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| March |
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| Changing
Seasons |
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| Spring
time means one thing in the Florida Keys, Tarpon season. There
are few fish more popular and treasured around the world and
it doesn’t get much better than catching them in the pristine
waters around the Keys. You can find pods of Tarpon migrating
down the Oceanside and in the bays and creeks throughout Florida
Bay. The most reliable way for catching tarpon is live bait
but if you prefer artificial, try a topwater lure or your favorite
tarpon fly.
On the Oceanside
flats, spring is the best time of year to catch double digit
bonefish and permit. The most reliable baits are shrimp and
crabs on a circle hook. Circle hooks will ensure that these
fish can be easily released unharmed. If you want to try artificials,
use an 1/8 oz bucktail from HookUp Lures. My favorite colors
are tan on tan or pink on pink.
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The
snook and redfish bite around the upper keys will continue
getting better as more fish work their way from deep in the
glades back out to Florida Bay. The important thing to remember
in shallow water is to use a stealthy approach. My baits of
choice are a chartreuse Hank Brown HookUp Lure with a Berkley
Gulp 5” Jerk Shad. As you jig this bait it creates a
puff of mud as the tail creates vibrations that the fish cannot
resist. Move slowly along the flat making sure to cast to
the potholes. Keep your eyes peeled for wakes from moving
fish and puffs of mud created by feeding reds and snook. When
you spot a fish, cast 5-6 feet in front and work the bait
slowly to intersect their path. But, if the water is dirty
most of your fish will come from blind casting as you move
along the flat.
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Offshore
Report
On the offshore
scene, Capt. George Clark has been posting some impressive
catches. The grouper bite has been great on the patch reefs
and wrecks. He’s been having the best results with
live pilchards and ballyhoo on a knocker rig (sliding egg
sinker above the hook), but don’t be afraid to try
a diving plug or bucktail. If you tip the bucktail with
a Berkley Gulp Cigar Minnow it will add some action and
scent to help entice the groupers into biting. Make sure
to use tackle heavy enough to prevent the grouper from returning
to their structure resulting in a lost fish. Capt. George
also reports a good bite of yellowtail, mangroves, hogfish
and muttons on the same patch reefs. You can use lighter
tackle (10-15 lb) with a HookUp Lure and live shrimp for
the snappers. Trolling with black and red lures has been
producing good numbers of wahoo and tuna in the 150-300’
range. Don’t forget to rig the lure with a wire leader
to prevent cut-offs from the wahoo. Include a few ballyhoo
rigs with skirts in the spread to capitalize on the increasing
dolphin bite. Don’t be surprised if you run across
some dolphin closer to the reef than during the summer.
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Til’ next time, Tight Lines and Light Winds…….
Captain
Lain
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