Blue Runner
Posts: 66
Location: St. Petersburg | The number 1 fish out on the inshore flats at this time is without a doubt the Trout. Ive gotten at least one trout on almost any given flat. The Trout are eating everything in sight and are not afraid to bite in any of the water columns. I have been getting them on live bait, such as free-lined shrimp, greenback, or small pinfish; Bottom-fished jigs, including the D.O.A. CAL and the Exude Gold Dart with a 1/4 oz. Jig Head; Shallow fished lures, including the Rapala X-Rap and the Nemire Red Ripper Spoon; and last but not least, (My Favorite) the Noisy Topwater Lure, such as a mirrolure or a Rapala Skitter-Walk. In my opinion Trout are one of the most fun game fish that you can catch inshore. They are aggressive fighters that have wild headshakes, mild runs, and their table quality is extraordinary. Coming in at second place on the flats is the Redfish. They are a little bit pickier as to where they eat, but as Captain Tommy Z. mentioned last month, the Redfish are in and have had a consistent bite for awhile now. I didn’t have any luck with them during the cold snap, but a short time afterwards the bite was on. Most of the redfish i have been landing are decent slot sized redfish around 20 inches, and we have had quite a few small "Rat" Reds. Although catching small Reds is not as fun as landing big "bulls", it is good news, because that shows that there is a great upcoming season when those "Rats" turn into larger fish and I believe that in the next few years we are going to see some of the largest redfish we have seen in the bay. I’ve had luck with Reds on Weed less rigged soft baits like the D.O.A. CAL in split tail, and the exude RT Slug; Jigs like the Exude Dart I mentioned earlier, and again the Topwater, preferably used at dusk just before sunset. And in Third is the Lizardfish! Just kidding.... The Snook bite is picking up on the flats and I have landed a few in the past few weeks. Not very large ones, but smaller fun sized fish around 20 inches. They can be caught mostly on live baits like shrimp, greenbacks, or pinfish; and lures that are fished in the Middle-Water column like the Rapala X-Rap I mentioned earlier, and weed less rigged soft baits. This is my favorite time of year to fish the flats, and in my opinion the time when you are most likely to get a slam. So get out on the water wither on shore or on a boat, and go do some fishing. Cya guys, I’m out. ~ShallowMinded |
Inshore Fishing Report 3/21
