By Captain Tom Van Horn
The longer days of summer allow enthusiastic anglers along Florida's Space Coast to take pleasure in spending their afternoons after work relaxing on the water. Warming coastal waters draw streams of Baitfish north followed by warm water predators, as our prevailing easterly winds give way to summers genially shifting sea breezes.
On the Lagoon flats, Redfish and Spotted Sea Trout will provide the majority of action for light tackle and fly anglers. The water has warmed up to the point where Jack Crevalle, Ladyfish, Snook, and Tarpon are showing up in good numbers. Although they will bite all day, I like to target Redfish and Sea Trout at first light or at dusk with top water plugs like the Rapala Skitterwalk, or Storm Chug Bug. As the day heats up, change your focus to the deeper edges of the flats (2 to 3 feet deep) jigging with a DOA CAL Shad or 4" & 5.5" jerk baits.
Offshore, Dolphin fishing will be the focus of blue water anglers this month. April and May are the time of year when the larger bulls are taken off the Florida Space Coast. The early season Dolphin bite has already yielded so big fish. As a bonus, the potential of taking a Blue Marlin or Sailfish are good. Near-shore, the Kingfish bite has heated up on the near-shore reefs and wrecks and some Cobia are still around. As the seas settle down and the bait schools move in close to the beach, look for the Kingfish action to move in also.
Inshore, the bait pods, Atlantic Menhaden (Pogies), have shown up along the beach, and now is the best time to target the ocean predator shadowing these schools. It's not uncommon to catch large Redfish, large Jack Crevalle, Blacktip Sharks, Cobia, and Tarpon from within these pods of bait. To locate bait pods, simply look for feeding birds, flipping and jumping bait, muddy water along the beach, and busting fish.
Spanish Mackerel, Snook, Redfish, Jack Crevalle, Bluefish, Flounder, Sheepshead and Black Drum are just some of the species available in the Lagoon inlets and beaches this month. As the Baitfish migration moves north, this type of fishing will only get better.
As always, if you have any questions or need help, please contact me.
Good luck and good fishing,
Captain Tom Van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters and Coastal Angler Magazine Orlando
captain@irl-fishing.com
www.irl-fishing.com
407-366-8085 landline
407-416-1187 on the water |
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