Water clarity will remain excellent and the water level will be much higher on the flats than we've had the past several weeks...
Capt. Dave's April 17 Fishing Report
Conditions: Winds will be easterly or northerly less than 10mph most of this week. There is a slight chance of showers each day. Water temps will be in the mid to high 70s. We'll have neap tides the first of the week and then we'll return to good moving water mid week.
Bait the fish are feeding on: Shrimp, crabs, pinfish, glass minnows (sardines), whitebait (threadfin Herring and scaled sardines)
Target species right now: Redfish, Sea Trout, Snook, Ladyfish, Jack Crevalle, Spanish Mackerel. There are a few tarpon too!
Fishing tactics: With neap tides reducing water flow this coming week the fish will be more spread out so plan on moving around to several flats to find them. With higher water levels and water temps increasing, the redfish and snook will be moving up under the mangroves by midmorning.
My fly fishing tip of the week: It's inevitable that you will put your fly into mangrove branches and roots when fishing the backcountry... Use flies with weed guards to reduce hang ups. Casting tight loops while keeping your back cast high and your forward cast low will reduce the number of times you get into the branches.
My spin fishing tip of the week: Soft baits rigged on Sluggo or twist lock type hooks work great for casting into the mangrove branches. They rarely hang up and you can twitch them slowly staying in the strike zone longer than you can with jigs or crankbaits.
7 day outlook: Water clarity will remain excellent and the water level will be much higher on the flats than we've had the past several weeks. This in combination with a retreating Bermuda should provide improvement in fishing conditions.
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