10,000 Islands
by Captain Mike Merritt
Spring Fishing here in the 10,000 Islands continues to get better.
The winds of course continue to blow. But this is always normal for this time of year. Snook are slowly moving in from offshore. We are finally catching some bigger fish on the outside Islands. Hopefully this continues to increase.
Big Sharks have moved in and these guys can wreck some good fishing. Bull Sharks and mostly Lemon Sharks are patrolling our shallows once again. If I have a Shark encounter I leave the area, as the last thing I want is to lose one of our big fish to these menaces. It can be disappointing to the client, but it is best for the fish.
Redfish are also good size right now. I have been catching some overslot fish recently and hope this also continues. These fish also appear to be coming in from offshore as they are almost silver in color. These guys are being caught while we are Snook fishing so it is a nice bonus.
Tripletail are due to be coming in as they do every spring. We just landed an 11 lb fish yesterday. They can be caught offshore of course but you never know when you might see one free floating on the flats. Keep your eyes peeled as you run and you may just get a shot at some nice fish.
The Seatrout bite continues but now the fish seem to be getting smaller and it takes more effort to bag a limit for dinner. When the water continues to get warmer the presence of worms will increase in these fish. I learned from an old timer, older than me, that if the trout has both front teeth he has no worms or very few. If he has one tooth he has more worms. If he has no front teeth he has lots of worms. This may help you in deciding which fish to keep.
Spring also offers some great offshore fishing. One thing I have noticed is the amount of boats coming here to fish the wrecks has increased 10 fold in just the last 5 years. I guess the word got out thru all the bragging about how good it is. Sometimes keeping a low profile can be advantageous.
But, whatever you decide to do this month one thing is for sure, the fishing is getting better! Good luck and be courteous!
Capt. Mike Merritt
Guide | (561)252-4324 | SnookFishing1@juno.com
