March is just around the corner and I'm sure glad of it. February has been just a little too crazy for me; weather wise that is, record highs, record lows, gale force winds, six inches of rain in eight hours, we've had it all in the past three weeks! But, this is the kind of weather we need to jump start a great spring fishery. I always bank on a good spring when we get the right amount of rain in the winter, and to get the rain we have to have the warmer south winds blowing which warms the waters as well, all this leads up to -- I'll bet that there isn't a Cobia Fisherman on the Gulf Coast that hasn't been doing the same thing that I'm doing, spooling new line on our new spinning reels we got for Christmas, checking out the local tackle shops to see the new and colorful Cobia Jigs that are available and asking when the first eels are going to be available. For the last two years the first Cobia was caught in the third week of March and with the mild weather and warming water temperatures, I'll bet it will be the same this season. So all you Pier Rats and Cobia Hunters; be on the ready- it's just three weeks from today!
Beach fishing - the sand fleas are showing up which makes the Red Fish and early Pompano real happy. On the few trips that I did get to run, I saw Red fish of all sizes combing the shallow Emerald Green waters in search of the tasty morsels. The Pompano fishermen are reporting impressive catches at the local tackle shops, the weather doesn't bother them, and all they have to watch for are the surfers. I'm casting a half ounce SPRO bucktail jig to the Reds on the beach. They seem to like the Magic Bus color the best. The Pompano are being taken on live sand fleas and fresh shrimp tails on a Carolina or pyramid sinker rig, and Pompano jigs tipped with a small piece of shrimp.
Bay fishing - the Reds in the bay and Santa Rosa Sound are on the move. Although the water is still cold, if you fish on a high tide in the afternoon you'll catch some Red Fish. They are taking small gold spoons and very slow moving jerk baits, sometimes even no movement at all will draw a strike. I'm using Big Bite Baits great product, Biobait. These baits are fortified with Bite Juice and the Red Fish love them. You can find them online at www.bigbitebaits.com. I've been having real good success on the six inch Bio Jerk Minnow in Baby Trout color. The Speck's are not ready to move from their deep water haunts yet, but if we keep getting these 65 to 70 degree days and the rain keeps falling, it's going to be a banner March for catching big Trout.
Pass fishing - the Sheepshead are on their normal migration pattern and showing up in good numbers around the passes, jetties and bridges. Sheepsheads are very good table fare and better than that they are great fun to catch. This is a great experience for youngsters, fishermen and women of all ages to get into. Once you locate the big schools of fish, it's catching fish on every bait that's dropped down, it's awesome fun! The best way to catch Sheepshead is to anchor up over some structure near one of the three passes (Destin, Pensacola, Perdido Pass) give everyone a spinning outfit Carolina rigged with a live shrimp or fiddler crab on the hook and drop it to the bottom and reel it one or two turns and hold on.
The Gulf - Red Snapper season is closed until June first, but don't let that detour your fishing plans, if you'll take a look at some of the early spring pictures you'll find a lot of Mangrove Snapper in them. In March, April and May I target and catch mostly Mangrove snapper, in my opinion they taste better and the creel limit is five per person- better deal than the Red Snapper. Plus it won't cost you a fortune to go snapper fishing with me and I believe it's a lot more fun to light tackle fish for them, anyway! If you have any questions about the Spring Break fishing in our area, I encourage you to give me a call or drop me an e-mail- I'll be glad to help you in any way I can.
Capt. Eddie
Herbert Hoover said "Fishing is the eternal Fountain of Youth"
I know one thing for sure - You ain't going to catch'em sittin' on the couch!!
So get out there, take a kid fishing and have a Blessed Day!
Professional Fishing Guide
Capt. Eddie Woodall
Full Net Fishing Charters L.L.C.
850-936-8203
www.fullnetcharters.com
A special thanks to my sponsors:
Blazer Bay Boats, Yamaha Outboards, SPRO Fishing Tackle, Gamakatsu Hooks, Big Bite Baits Inc.
Pure Fishing Select Anglers Program, Berkley Gulp, ABU Garcia, Shakespeare Fishing, All-Star Rods,
Penn Reels, X-Tools, Seven Strand, Johnson, Fenwick, Stren, Berkley, Spider and Pflueger.
Lee Fisher Bait Buster Cast Nets.
