Primavera Pescar

Springtime fishing can't be beat

Well, Spring is here and the birds are flying, the bees are buzzing and the--wait a sec. That's the story my mom told me when I was 11. I'm supposed to be talking about fishing. Sorry about that.

Well, its April and all the fish are starting to get active again. And when I mean active, I mean they are looking for some action. And when I say action I mean they are wanting to start making some babies. So that is exactly what they are going to do.

Living out here in Orlando the only real fishing for me to do during the week when I'm not beachside is to hit the local ponds for some bass. Over the past month or so I've noticed that all the lakes are full of 2' wide potholes, shaped like perfect circles in the sand. I learned that they are fish beds, or to be exact, nests where they can lay their eggs and protect them. The fish use their tails to blow out a hole in the sand and then deposit their eggs there. They then guard their nests and attack anything that comes near--even lures. We've been catching some bass up to 5 pounds around these beds. Hey, it's the closest thing to sight fishing I've got!

Back on the coast the fishing in the Indian River has been pretty awesome. The warmer water species like snook are starting to feed heavily again and move up into the shallows. The flats around the inlet, which are full of baitfish and clean water, hold good numbers of snook that want to stay warm in the April sunshine and feed heavily after chilling out all winter. I fished with my good buddy Dustin this past weekend and he pulled two keeper-sized snook off the flats north of Sebastian Inlet using a green jerkbait. That same day we caught a half dozen nice trout and a redfish.

The water is still a little cool in the river, so the snook aren't up in the mangroves because they don't like to hang out in the shade. Like I said, they'd rather be in the sun, so focus your fishing on the warmest spots. Only on the hottest days should you seek out some snook in the shade.

With the west winds we've been having, now is a great time to cruise the beaches in your boat looking for the big schools of mullet and whatever predators are following them. Going out of any inlet, be it Port Canaveral, Sebastian, or Ft. Pierce, head along the beach just past the breakers and keep your eyes peeled through polarized glasses for any signs of activity. I like to look for dark clouds of baitfish beneath the surface or any other signs of life. Baitfish being crashed through on the surface or big pods of jacks are usually a dead giveaway. Following the mullet are going to be big Spanish mackerel, tarpon, blacktip sharks, bluefish, mogan jacks and maybe even some snook.

While fishing around the mullet schools, nothing beats a live mullet, either freelined or fished under a float about 2' down. However, if the schools of bait are moving too quickly to fish a live bait, I like to use a white bucktail jig, a swimming plug, or a STORM swimbait. Makes sure your lure or jig matches the size of the baitfish that are schooling and it's pretty much a guarantee you'll bend a rod in no time.

Dolphin season is pretty much here, but we've had some rough weekends and the reports coming in have been slow. The Gulf Stream is WAAYY out there now, but with some south winds it should blow in close and turn on the dolphin fishing for East Central Florida. The key in finding these lime green delicacies is to know what to look for. They like to be in water that's at least 76 degrees, so keep an eye on your temp gauge. Once these winds calm down a bit the big weed mats should start clumping together and we'll have nice lines to troll down--excellent dolphin habitat. I prefer to use mono leaders, 60-80lb test, for dolphin. Also, always keep a big bait with a wire leader out there, preferably on the downrigger about 30' down. Where there are dolphin there are usually nice wahoo feeding on them.

Well, till next time, tight lines and drags that scream like skinny women,

Matt B

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