Captain's Report - March/April, 2006

by Capt. Dave Mistretta

This will be the time for major changes. Longer days combined with weaker colds fronts, allows migratory fish to come our way. Already water temps have been creeping upwards towards the right direction. A couple of weeks more of seventy plus degree weather and our options will be endless. The red tide shows little signs of coming back, so expect this spring to bust loose with action.

Kingfish will make their presence this month, but when they will arrive is still unclear. Mid March is always a safe bet on finding these macks. Water temps will control the intensity of their migration. Sixty eight to seventy degrees is when the fist push of fish will arrive. They may not stay for long, but will be quite hungry from the long travel. Until water temps stay for a decent period of time in the seventies, many of the early arrival kings will move on after a couple of days.

Good place to start searching are all the ten mile reefs that dot our coastline. These large structures will halt the migration of many species during these spring months. The entire Egmont Channel is also an early arrival spot. The markers further west seem to hold the first push of spring kings. You can start working markers 5 and 6, then work your way out to the whistler buoy. The deeper parts of the channel, closer to the whistler normally attract the first pushes of fish. Many of the kings will be smaller in size, which is par for this time of year. They will be schooled up tight, by the hundreds at times. Occasionally, a big fish can be found mixed in with the schoolies.

By the end of the month their will be kings everywhere. At this time you can start looking for bigger kings further up the channel towards the Skyway Bridge.Their numbers will not be nearly as intense as the deeper waters. But some huge rogues will investigate far up into the bay, all the way into May.

The artificial reefs will gain even more fish as the bait settles over the structures. This bait migration also happens near the end of the month. If you can find a reef that is holding a good food source for the kings, I suggest checking it on a daily routine. Eventually you'll hit jackpot. After locating the reef with bait and kings, you can catch your limit day after day until May.

This month, schools of bait fish will start to settle on many of the shallower hard bottom areas off the coast. These natural bottom areas will also lure many of the kings to it. Areas with large breaks and rocks are normally the spots that attract fish. Springtime can often have some great action in waters as shallow as 30 feet of water. I have seen massive schools of kingfish move onto this natural bottom in the past. Action can be intense since your baits are in the middle of as many as 500 kingfish. As fast as you can throw your bait in the water, you'll hook up, since the fish are quite hungry from their long journey north. Similar to the Egmont Channel some bigger fish will venture even closer to shore searching for food. Don't be surprised if you see a giant king leap out of the water directly outside the passes. There won't be a lot of them, but their size is always astounding. They are quite aggressive and will chase bait all the way to the beach if need be.

Once the bait settles into our area, other predators will begin to arrive. Cobia, sailfish grouper amberjack, permit, sharks, barracuda and many more fish can be taken in these same vicinities. They all seem to join in on the giant ambush of predators against baitfish. Spring is definitely one of the most exciting times to fish in Florida. The fish seem to all swim with their mouths wide open and have an endless appetite. A couple hours fishing over these bait schools keeps my clients hooked up for hours. It's a great way to start the morning off. Simply jigging up some bait, then tossing them into the feeding frenzy is all it takes to hook up. It's easy to spot all the action, since there will be kings skyrocketing out of the water after frantic baitfish. Ease you way towards the commotion and start tossing line in all directions. The great thing about springtime fishing is you never know what will attack your baited hook. Each day will only get better as this month matures.

If there is ever a time to dust off your tackle its this long awaited month of March.

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