PORT CANAVERAL OFFSHORE FORECAST

Hope everyone had fun cobia fishing the last few months. Continue to look around the 50- to 60-foot range for the rays and leatherbacks holding fish. Free swimmers will be abundant continuing through this month as well. If you find some type of color change, weed line or temp break in that depth you’re gold. Bucktails and live bait will do the trick. If they won’t fire on the bucktail follow it up with a live bait of some sort. Cobia are not picky, so whatever you have will work. When using live bait, I use a 60 lb. leader from my 50 lb. braid to an 8/0 circle hook. This is also the time of year that they will come in very close as well. Don’t hesitate to start or end up in the 20-foot depth—or go out to the reef and catch a shark and see what comes up with it.

Kings will start showing up in better numbers as well. Live bait will be choice this time of year for the big ones that come back through. We were just on the tail end of the smaller fish migration. Soon, the 30 pounders will start showing more consistently. Fish your local reefs and any structures that hold bait. Shipwrecks and any other structures work great. You can also sabiki these areas for baits.

Soon you will start seeing the bait pods show up. The water is warming up and the fishing will only get better. Start looking for birds and flipping bunker. It’s been scarce to non-existent lately, but don’t worry, it’s almost here. Get yourself a good cast net. Tim Wade nets are what ya want. Get a little extra lead on it to sink it faster. Leave the Wally World net at home; that 4-footer just won’t cut it. We normally throw a 10- to 12-foot net with some extra lead so it sinks quicker. Fish and Dive in Cocoa Beach sells the right nets; go chat with Nick.

Bottom fishing for grouper and throwback reds is gonna be good. Use live bait with 3-ways and knocker rigs, 80/100 lb. leaders (whatever works best for you), and 8/0-10/0 hooks. I believe you’re supposed to have circle hooks now in fed waters so check your local regulations. Oh...and descenders have to be on the boat and ready.

To keep the kids busy you can chicken rig all the reefs for triggers and the mighty sea bass. Use squid and small chunk baits. Triggers tend to hang a little higher off the bottom so once it hits crank it up a few feet. Mahi are close by, so get that gear ready. I will touch base on that in May’s issue. Good luck! See you out there.

PORT CANAVERAL INSHORE: The nearcoastal water temperatures are extremely high just outside of the Port Canaveral basins this spring, so cobia may (or may not) be as plentiful as they have been in years past. Only time will tell with this popular species of fish. What is almost a guarantee is a species that I’ve been taking my anglers to target on a regular basis—the snook.

The snook bite has been on fire over the past few weeks around the port and along the beaches. There seems to be no slow-down coming into the month of April. Many of my charter trip customers are catching double-digit numbers of this great tasting gamefish. The slot limit is often tough to hit. This is because you have to catch a snook that measures between 28 and 32 inches (with a pinched tail) in order to keep it. I have found that when you get as many shots as we have been getting on some days, you can normally find at least one fish that you can invite home to put on your plate for dinner.

Tarpon and big bull redfish are also starting to show up this month. Although it is a little early for the large schools of these two species to be here, we are still getting regular shots at them on many days. A variety of sharks from 20 to 100 pounds, black drum, sheepshead, pompano and others round out the list of potential catches that are possible this month for anglers fishing around the central east coast of Florida.

BANANA RIVER LAGOON: Baitfish activity will determine how the Banana River Lagoon fishes this month. If water clarity improves and we see good amounts of pinfish, mullet and glass minnows showing up in this section of our coastal waters, you can bet that speckled trout, redfish, snook and black drum will not be far behind them. Look for the first three species that I mentioned to follow these bait schools up and down the shorelines. If they can find a good ambush point to target these baitfish, then the action should get really good. Rapala topwater plugs like the Skitter Walk in the smaller 08 centimeter size or any of the Saltwater Assassin 4- to 6-inch sea shad rigged on a 1/8 to 1/4 ounce jig head will be very good lures to try. One of my favorites when targeting larger snook, reds and trout is the all-new 5-inch size sea shad—called the “Artimis Shad”—in the Houdini or Green Hornet color options. This is a slightly larger baitfish profile that I have normally used in the past, but I really like the way it swims and the bigger fish it catches. Black drum will be roaming the flats and edges of the drop offs and spoil islands. Some of these fish will run into the 15to 20-pound range. They are best targeted with a live shrimp on a split shot and 2/0 sized circle hook rig, or 1/8th ounce Saltwater Assassin “Boodah” jig head. Anglers may find even larger drum under the bridges in this portion of the lagoon. Cut crab will normally work best for the bridge drum.

Overall, this is a fantastic month to get out and catch some fish. If you are looking to go fishing, please give me a call or check my website for available dates. I would love to get you out to catch your next memory!

Coastal Angler Brevard