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Fishing Report: As I sit here and ponder my forecast for April, I’m thankful for the opportunity to live, breath, and fish on the waters of the Indian Lagoon coast of Florida. We are truly blessed by what Mother Nature has provided for our enjoyment.
Once on the water, fishing eases our mind’s troubles by forcing us to focus on the task at hand. Fresh air in our lungs, sunshine on our skin, and screaming drags, all serve as an escape from reality, as April symbolizes the commencement of some of the hottest fishing experienced on Florida’s Indian Lagoon coast.
Offshore, April marks the beginning of the fishing season for most blue water anglers. It represents the start of the April/May northern migration of dolphin in deeper water, 120 feet and beyond, and usually brings in some of the largest bulls taken all year. April also marks the beginning of the spring kingfish run on the near-shore reef outside Port Canaveral. It’s the time of year when most of the larger kings, 30 to 50 pounds, are taken off 8A Reef, and Pelican Flats.
As we move in near-shore, tripletail should become more dependable, and look for a late season cobia run. The cobia run thus far has been slow due to cloudy skies, strong winds, and shifting water temperatures. Also look for the bait pods (pogies) to begin showing up bringing Spanish mackerel, blues, redfish, school buses (large jacks), smoker kings (large kingfish), and silver kings (tarpon) with them.
In the inlets, look for good numbers of sheepshead, black drum around structure such as jetties and docks, and Spanish mackerel, blues, and large jacks in open water. Also look for the nighttime snook and tarpon action to heat up in the Sebastian Inlet.
On the lagoon flats, fish early morning and late evening with your favorite top water plugs for extreme trout and redfish action, and try using soft plastics and jigs in deeper water, 2 to 3 feet, after the morning bite settles down. April is one of the months when sea trout are egg laden for the spawn, which happens just before and after the new and full moon, so it is very important to handle and release the larger females with great care. Each female represents the release of millions of eggs, and their survival is essential for proliferation of the species.
Last but not least, freshwater largemouth and striper bass action should be picking up on the St Johns River. Look for schooling bass at first light feeding on menhaden from the Osteen Bridge to Lake Harney. My favorite locations are in the river bends near the power lines at Lemmon Bluff, and at the south end of Lake Harney were the River dumps in. A good way to locate these schooling fish is to look for white pelicans and other wading birds congregating along the shore. When in the feeding mode, these fish will take most swim plugs, and small live shiners. Also down south in the Stick Marsh and Farm 13, the largemouth bass fishing has been extremely hot.
Good luck and Good Fishing
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