It's that time of year on Charlotte Harbor for warmer days and hot fishing. One of the factors this time of year that yields better fishing is that the live bait is abundant. White bait, threadfins, and pinfish can all be caught on the flats right now.....
Recent trips have boated many snook and redfish by way of live bait. Higher water on incoming tides, fish can be caught under mangroves and in deeper creeks and cuts. These guys had a blast on an outing while fishing with Capt. Jason Dill.....
Fish can also be caught in local canals as well. Schools of big jacks will be roaming as well as snook.....
Some situations call for fishing live bait under a small popping cork. It not only keeps the bait fish from getting in the grass, but the popping noise it makes can attract hungry fish. Such was the case on a recent trip for young anglers Scott and Cameron while fishing with Capt. Tim White.....
They weren't the only ones catching fish using a popping cork. Their dad Gregg got to tango with a 100+ pound tarpon roaming in 4-5 feet of water on the flats as Scott and Cameron looked on with excitement. The tarpon towed us a half mile out into the deep harbor and 57 minutes later we had the fish boatside......
The only difference in the rig he was using was that instead of live bait under the cork, the tarpon ate a 3 inch Gulp shrimp. Here is the rig pictured below.....
Another fish found on the flats right now in numbers is the speckled trout. They can be found in deeper grass flats in 3-5 feet of water. Plastic jerk baits are working well and you can't go wrong with live white bait.
Redfish are schooling in parts of the harbor. Most fish are just over the slot limit when fishing these schools. Beating the bushes with live bait can give way to various solo redfish in the mid to upper slot. As the water warms, release these fish as quick as possible for a healthy release.
The season is just about upon us, tarpon season that is. As you can see, big tarpon are already starting to show in many places. Soon enough, May-June-July will be your best bet to tango with a tarpon in famous Boca Grande Pass. Book your trip soon if you want to dance with the mighty silverking!
Tight Lines from the CHO Guides
