Spring has sprung and fishing is great!

Finally we are enjoying some warm sunny days and hot fishing. White bait even showed up today. We found several schools and did not even have to dig out my Magic Chum. Spanish mackerel are everywhere; the “mack attack” is underway! We still have some fine trout and now a few pompano mixed in to tantalize our taste bids. Ladyfish and blue runner are in now; we should have big king mackerel any day. This is it find time to go fish now.

Englewood water temperatures reached seventy today inside and sixty-eight out in the Gulf. Some of the back country areas between Englewood and Venice are hitting mid seventies on sunny afternoons. Snook and redfish will pick up now that we have some baitfish. It will require you to take advantage of a few bites to capture redfish for dinner. They are improving but a lot of fishing pressure is directed at reds with snook closed this season. We do have other options.

Spanish Mackerel are running from a pound to four pounds. They are fun and great eating “FRESH”. We enjoy liberal bag limits on macks and they are abundant now! I tried for kings in Boca Grande Pass yesterday but had not bites. Captain Bill Miller told me he saw a few tarpon in the Pass this morning. Water temps are close and I expect big smoker, twenty to fifty pound, kingfish any day.

We are finally catching some pompano most trips, mostly big ones. We had seven legal ones yesterday afternoon and six bigger ones today. We use Doc’s Goofy Jigs and enjoy lots of action. The Spanish are so thick we have to move away from them frequently. I expect the pompano to show up at the Venice Jetties any time. Those big kingfish and mackerel will be off the Venice Pier soon also.