There’s no denying it now. Spring weather is here and Spring fishing has followed suit. Redfish have been the main targets as they are huge schools in the St. Petersburg area. Hitting them on high water with live sardines has been the key. We’ve had to show patience when looking for them when the tide wasn’t right. They really have been hard to find or hard to get to eat when the tide has been low. But when the tide came up, it was a whole different ball game. They showed up in hude numbers and they brought their appetites with them.

Trout are still biting in good numbers if table fair is what you’re after. We’re seeing more of the smaller “summer” sized trout but getting some keepers for dinner isn’t hard if that’s what you’re after.

Snook are popping up everywhere right now as they are beggining their migration to the beach. Some fish are already on the beach but we haven’t targeted them there yet. We’re getting most of our shots at them in their transition spots like spoil islands and the flats.

Tarpon are showing up in the St. Petersburg area. We haven’t targeted them yet but we will starting next week.Spanish mackerel are all over the Sunshine Skyway and surrounding areas and they make great fun for kids and adults alike.  There is no shortage of fish right now and the weather can’t be beat. Let’s go fishing!

If you have been on a charter with me and you haven’t received the pictures I’ve taken of you, please let me know. I need your name, date of the charter, and any hint of what you were wearing or what kind of fish you’re holding. Please email me again, I know I’ve missed a few emails and I want to get your pictures to you.

THANKS!

Capt. Clay

It’s been a really windy spring thus far. It seems as though the wind just won’t quit. Windy days are usually bad fishing days and we’ve had to adapt to make sure that we succeed. Luckily for us, the fish haven’t been phased. We’ve been able to find fish in protected areas from the wind and on occasion, we’ve thumbed our nose at the wind and caught fish while battling the chop on the water.

Right now, redfish are schooled up big time in the St. Petersburg area. Finding them has not been hard at all. The hard part is finding fish that are willing to eat. To do that we’ve had to find fish in deeper water. The fish that are in less than two feet of water are skittish and just wont eat. That’s tough for us because they are the most visible fish. Some of these schools hold 500 or more fish in them. But you can waste a lot of time looking at them if you are disciplined enough to go after smaller groups of fish that are more comfortable in deeper water. Which is what we did last week. Clients were treated to days of over 30 over slot redfish by going after fish that we couldn’t see but we could get to eat.

Trout on the other hand have been biting well in really shallow water. The bigger fish have been in the New Port Richey area in less than two feet of water. To get the bite going well you need to chum them up a lot with free sardines. We’ve been getting trout from 18-25″ regularly.

Snook are starting to make a show of themselves but they still aren’t a main target. We did get a few keepers in the Tarpon springs area but look for it to be a few more weeks of warm weather before we can target them successfully.

Tarpon season is right around the corner. If you’ve wanted to catch a tarpon this is your chance. I’ll be running tarpon charters from the St. Pete area all the way down to “World Famous Boca Grande” in Charlotte Harbor. Book your trip today for a chance at the “Silver King”.

I hope you guys like the new fishing report. I’ll be using my blog for reports from here on out for a couple of reasons. One is that it’s easier for me to post reports and the other is that you can subscribe to my blog and you’ll get email notifications when I post a new report.

See you soon! Let’s go fishing!

To see the fishing report archive, click here…

But sometime I just have to. Today I had to call my client at 6:30am to cancel today’s charter. He was noticably upset and I understand. He’d tried to get out on the water several times this month with his son and each time was canceled due to weather. I feel for him. However, sometimes we just have to make that call. As a responsible captain, my first priority is the safety of those on my boat. When the National Weather Service issues a Small Craft Advisory, a Tornado Watch and the radar looks like it did this morning (see image), I have to make a call with safety in mind and today the call was to cancel the trip.

Keep in mind that there is nobody that wants to go fishing more than I do. It’s my livelyhood. Everytime I cancel a charter, a bill doesn’t get paid at my house. So there is nobody with more motivation to go. But safety must prevail.