by Capt. Matt Mitchell
As our water temperatures crept into the high 70s this week, fishing just came alive. Throw some south wind into the equation, and the fact that we are finally back on four tide days, fishing was just going to be good. Snook and trout continue to be the main target species, with the past few weeks bringing some of the best big trout action I’ve seen for a long time.
Having shiners in March is always a good thing, even if they are what we often call “turbo” models. I ran many trips this week, and most of my baits were on the larger end of the spectrum. Often, when I fish these larger baits, you start to see the fish chase and miss them as they can be a little too fast. One solution is to trim or break the tail to slow them down. These big baits, once trimmed, caught lots of both snook and some larger-than-average trout.
With the water really clean and clear in the middle sound, we have been setting up on 3-5ft of water where the sand and grass make that salt-and-pepper bottom. These areas can be found on either side of the sound, with Foster’s Point area being one. Making long casts with free-lined shiners, I will have my clients stay tight, keeping the rod high, and do a stop-and-go retrieve. When you feel the trout pick up the bait, just wind and make the rod bend. Trout often let go, so be prepared to keep the bait moving as they drop it, then come back to close the deal. This method caught lots of slot-sized trout along with a few Spanish mackerel all week long. The Captiva rocks flats were another great place to get in on this action.
During higher tides and southerly winds, I’ve been picking the south-facing shorelines and small mangrove islands. This setup allows you to anchor (power pole) way out and make a really long cast with the bigger baits. Many times this is the setup snook want, and we caught lots all week long. Although we did not have any giant snook to the boat most days, we had at least one shot at one. Unless you’re on your game, it’s tough to keep a hard-charging snook out from the safety of the barnacle mangrove roots. Once these baits swam out from the woods, slowly retrieving them back to the boat, we caught lots of trout in these same places, too.
