On the Water: March madness on the water
With the warming trend we experienced the last two weeks of February, spring fishing is off to an early start. Spring fishing is looked upon as some of the best of the year with a wide variety of species willing to bend a rod. As days get longer and warmer, water temperatures rise and schooling bait fish return. This is a combination that rings the dinner bell for fish along the coastal waters.
For fast, fun action, it’s hard to beat targeting areas with schooling Spanish mackerel, bluefish, seatrout, ladyfish and other “surprise” fish. It’s possible to anchor on one spot and hook a fish about every cast. Fishing with young spring breakers from grade school through their college years, most have one thing in common, they want action. They aren’t as concerned about landing a trophy gamefish but would rather keep busy with a bent rod and screaming drags. Plus, the “surprise” fish we mentioned could include sharks of multiple species, tarpon, cobia and others, all with the possibility of being large, so you want to keep a heavier rig armed and ready if anyone is up to the challenge.
Spanish mackerel are a great target as they are ferocious feeders, lightning fast and offer a good fight. Plus, prepared fresh they offer excellent table fare. To me they are the perfect fish when looking for fun and action with spring breakers. When mackerel are present odds are good that sharks are nearby — sharks love snacking on mackerel.
This month will kick off good snook fishing along our coastal waters. Water temperature is critical for snook, too cold and they are often dormant. As the water rises to 70 degrees or above and holds, we can look for snook to become active, on the move and hungry. Like many of our gamefish their primary diet will become the abundance of oily bait fish. Although snook season remains closed, most anglers don’t mind as they are such a great and challenging game fish and a very addictive fish to target after you hook into a few.
With the invasion of bait fish and warming water, big trout will become common catches. Many of our largest seatrout of the year are caught this month inshore. Trout are in their first and largest spawn cycle of the year, look for the bigger fish to get aggressive and hungry.
Following months of daytime low tides and often not much water to navigate, our first spring high tides begin. Higher tides allow for good opportunities to target redfish along mangrove shorelines and over oyster bars. Early morning low tides also allow anglers great shots at tailing redfish over the shallow flats.
Offshore, on days the weather allows, there are good opportunities for a variety of fish including reef dwellers like snapper, grouper, grunts, porgies and others. As the water warms, schools of fast-moving Spanish and king mackerel, plus false albacore or bonito and even some blackfin tuna are making their way up the coast and busting up any schooling bait fish they encounter.
Keep an eye out for tripletail around buoys or floating debris and don’t be surprised if a big cobia makes his presence around your boat while bottom fishing. Early season tarpon begin to show a few miles off the beaches, generally to the southern part of our region and making their way up the coast.
You can visit www.myfwc.com for updated fish regulations for your fishing area.
March is a month where anything is possible, and you should always expect the unexpected. We have some cool and windy days, but they are offset with great weather as we leave winter behind and break into the spring season. February closed with good fishing, and it should only get better this month.
If you have a fishing report or for charter information, contact Gulf Coast Guide Service at 239-410-8576 (call or text); on the web at www.fishpineisland.com; or via email at gcl2fish@live.com.
Have a safe week and good fishin’.
As a lifetime resident of Matlacha and Pine Island, Capt. Bill Russell has spent his life fishing and learning the waters around Pine Island and Southwest Florida, and as a professional fishing guide for the past 23 years.