by Captain Mike Merritt
Fishing this month is looking good! The weather has turned nice and the Snook bite seems to be getting better each day. This is when these fish really move into the Islands in preparation for the summer spawning. They show up and feed very aggressively. I love to fish some topwater lures for them this time of year early in the morning. There will be lots of oversize fish so be careful handling and releasing these big spawning fish.
Also we will start to deal with more sharks showing up and they are eager to eat the fish you hook. If you run into this happening my advice is to move on from that area to avoid this happening. Nothing worse than hooking a big Snook to only have a 10ft. shark eat it at the boat. The Redfish bite has continued to be good and if it holds up this month it will add to the fun! You can fish the shorelines in the Islands and catch Snook and Reds together. We have been fortunate to catch quite a few oversize Reds lately.
The Reds can be caught on live bait, Shrimp, cut bait and scented jigs. These all work as these fish can really pick up on the scent of whatever bait your using. So, working the jig as slow as you can works best. The Seatrout continue to bite also. These are all over the flats now but are also being caught in the Islands and Rivers. Jigs, popping corks, and live shrimp all produce. There are a lot of smaller fish around now as the water warms up.
The offshore bite will pick up for Permit and Cobia also this month. Tarpon continue to be spread out in the Islands, Rivers, back Bays and throughout the entire area. It is a great time of year so enjoy the bounty! Good Luck Fishing
Capt. Mike Merritt
Guide | (561)252-4324 | SnookFishing1@juno.com
