INSHORE

from Coastal Angler Magazine | March 2023 | Miami Edition

TIES STATE RECORD

by Capt. Abie Raymond

Ravenous tarpon, snook and snapper seek shrimp in January. e shrimp will run good this month. Shrimp run at night, usually a er 10pm. If possible, look for a hard Northeast wind and an outgoing tide. Fish around lighted bridges with lots of current. I’ve seen shrimp run on all wind directions and both tides, but the fore mentioned conditions are preferable. For tarpon, sh up current of the bridge span and oat the shrimp back with a braided line on a spinning out t. Your leader should be 3 . of 40 lb. uorocarbon with a hook size to match the shrimp size. I like in-line circle hooks. ey are better for the sh and the sh stay on the hook better. For snook (season is closed in January) and snapper, sh a jig-head matched to the speed of the current so your bait can touch bottom JUST BEFORE it arrives at the bridge structure.

Big muttons will be lurking on the patch reefs again this month. Lots of species will be hot on the patch reefs. Use a medium or heavy spinning out t. Fish a dead or live ballyhoo on jig heads appropriately weighted for the conditions. Make sure you cast it far and don’t worry if it doesn’t reach bottom muttons come up to the surface to feed all the time. While waiting for the trophy muttons sh fresh dead shrimp on knocker rigs on the bottom with light spinners and you will rack up the species in no time.