APRIL FISHING CONDITIONS

April 1 POOR Morning

April 2 FAIR Morning

April 3 GOOD Morning

April 4 FAIR Morning

April 5 FAIR Morning

April 6 FAIR Evening

April 7 BEST Evening

April 21 POOR Evening

April 22 POOR Evening

April 23 POOR Evening

April 24 BEST Evening

April 25 BEST Evening

April 26 BEST Evening

April 27 POOR Morning

Fishing

Forecasts

From The Shore

April brings bait to the beach and river and it looks like this month the action will heat up.

Let’s start with my favorite, the snook. April brings rain with rain they’ll open up the locks and that is where my first choice would be. When that water is released, the snook come eating and there are lots of them. Any trip, you will catch a lot of big ones and the right slot limit to take home. Fish the lower side so you catch and release without harm. I like to use the Ocho from Henn Lures in black and silver and the Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow. Look for where the eddy breaks and throw in there. Snook will also be at the inlets, with first morning and night being the best.

The tarpon will be rolling off the beach. Look for them at first light right before sunset. Throwing the Ocho on a 1-ounce jig head in black and silver from Henn Lures. Look for these fish to be schooled together and use a heavy tackle, 100-pound leader tied to 65-pound braid and an 8-foot rod. You won’t get them in safe and quick if you don’t.

Trout and redfish can be caught west side of the river near the docks near Midway Road under a shrimp and popping cork. Wade out, high tide being the best, throwing under docks and moving your way out. Make sure you have a dehooker. Catfish will be your bycatch. Until next time, tight lines.

Brian Nelli

Pushin’ Water Kayak Charters (772) 201-5899

Brian@tckayakfishing.com www.tckayakfishing.com

INSHORE: Glass minnows should be showing up in good numbers and our small spring mullet run will be right around corner. Artificial baits like D.O.A. C.A.L. shad tails, jerk bait and TerrorEyz will work well around the mangroves, docks and bridges. April also brings tripletail into our river system. Look to target crab trap buoys and channel markers with a D.O.A. shrimp to bring in these tasty fish.

OFFSHORE: April is one of the best months of the year! Tuna and mahi should be a seen on a consistent basis. Trolling live bait should pick up both species as well as other pelagics. Vertical jigging 230-to350 feet will also produce blackfin tuna and bonito. There are many beach areas to launch your kayak throughout Palm Beach County. Try around Lake Worth pier beach and Boca Inlet for an easy launch. The fishing grounds off our coast are anywhere from 1-to-3 miles. Look to work the 90-to-200-foot depths. Finally, don’t forget about the cobia. Bouncing the reef with a D.O.A. mullet or buck tail jig tipped with a frozen sardine will put you in line for one of these tasty fish.

FRESHWATER: Peacock bass and largemouth will be heading towards their beds to spawn if they have not already. Look to sight fish the bass along the banks. Throwing a small jig in their bed to annoy them will get them to bite. Clown knifefish should be easy to catch using a live shiner or rattletrap. Target deeper water near grass lines. Check us out Pushin’ Water Kayak Charters on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for all the latest adventures my clients and I get into.

See you on the water!

Lake Okeechobee

Capt. Nate Shellen

Shellen Guide Service

Okeechobee Bass Fishing

Guides/Charters

(863) 357-0892 sjmike7@aol.com

OkeechobeeBassFishing.com

FellsmereResevoirBassFishing.com

Warm days and nights are a lead-up to great fishing on Lake Okeechobee, as stable weather patterns usher in some of the better catching of the year. Speck (crappie) anglers are having a banner year on Okeechobee. It has been quite a few years since so many large specks have been found in the grassy areas that form the littoral zone of the lake.

Kissimmee grass is found surrounding the outside edges of the lake on the north end of the lake and is a prime spot to target and find large speckled perch when they move in shallow water to spawn. When Kissimmee grass and other native grasses can be found adjacent to one another fishing can go to catching very quickly. Anglers targeting these fish are using small jigs on very thin line. A large speck can offer quite a challenge when hooked in heavy cover, pulling them through weeds and other cover is challenging due to the very fragile composition of their lips, which can rip or tear easily, freeing a hook and the fish to fight another day. Many times, I have seen the large smile on a fisherman’s face change to a look of horror as a large speck falls back into the water just as it is about to come over the side of the boat.

Bass anglers are finding that catching large numbers of bass to be tougher this year than it has been in quite some time. The artificially high-water levels maintained by the Corps of Engineers allows the bass to access the deepest part of the marsh areas which anglers can no longer penetrate due to extreme weed growth. The bite can be a hitor-miss affair, one day the fish will be stacked up in an area and eating a spinner bait or chatter bait and the next day the area will seem devoid of fish. The tried-and-true Senko in a black and blue color or a watermelon/red color will always produce fish, it is just a little slower presentation than most people can stand. Working through an area thoroughly before moving on is much more productive to run and gun-style fishing on Okeechobee. Guided shiner trips are producing 25 to 40 fish per morning with big bass in the mix almost daily. Look for the best bass fishing for numbers and big bass around three to four days prior to and after a full or new moon phase.