On the Water: Fishing in March? Anything is possible!
It’s been a wet, windy and cold winter for Southwest Florida standards. With luck, March will kick the pattern as we exit winter and move into spring. 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, the water temperature will rise. Schooling bait fish return to local waters with the warming waters. This is a combination that rings the dinner bell for fish along our coastal waters.
The winter sheepshead run should come to a close over the month. As they complete their spawning duties, they disperse to who knows where. There’s still a good chance to hook big ones around inshore structure and nearshore reefs. Inshore, pompano is a possibility if fishing with shrimp or small pompano jigs.
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 that is often overlooked. To me they are the perfect fish when looking for fun and action. When mackerel are present odds are good that sharks are nearby; sharks love snacking on mackerel.
This month kicks 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 oily bait fish. Snook season is open through April.
With the invasion of bait fish and warming water, big trout become common catches. Many of our largest seatrout of the year are caught this month. 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, sheepsheads 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 within sight of land. Keep an eye out for tripletail around buoys or floating debris and don’t be surprised if a big cobia makes its presence around your boat while bottom fishing. Fishing around one of the public artificial reefs is always a good choice for a variety of fish.
Early season tarpon begin to show a few miles off the beaches, to the southern part of our region slowly making their way up the coast. Tarpon hook-ups are possible inshore as the waters warm over the month.
March is a month where anything is possible, and you should always expect the unexpected. We generally have some cool and windy days, but they will be offset with stretches of great weather as we break into the spring season. If you have company down from the north, it’s a great time to get them on the water. There’s nothing better than a day with nature, away from the congested roads and crowds to show them what a good time in Florida is all about.
Stay up to date with fishing regulations by visiting www.myfwc.com. Also, upload the Fish Rules app on your phone. It has current regulations and seasons with pictures to help identify fish.
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 Flori-da, and as a professional fishing guide for the past 23 years.