Warm weather and hot fishing has been the theme of the week. With the water heating up the bites been wide open both inshore and offshore the last few days and that trend should continue into the weekend. Offshore the Wahoo have been chewing and inshore the big Drum are showing up in the inlets while the Spanish Mackerel are getting thick along the beaches.
In the creeks and ICW this week anyone’s that been on the water has seen the millions of worms hatching. This happens every year and is a welcome sign of spring. The fish really key in on them for a few days and gorge themselves on the worms which can sometimes make it hard to get bit with other baits. I tend to do a little better fishing artificial and trying for a reaction strike, when you’re competing with so much easy natural forage it’s hard to match the hatch unless you’re using a worm fly.
The big breeding Black Drum have made their way to the First Coast and we should see good action on them for a few weeks until the water warms up some more. I’ve had the best luck using Blue Crabs as bait for them and usually the tips of the jetty rocks or the deep channel edges in the river are good areas to target these fish. You’re fishing the same as you would for Bull Redfish but the Drum bite is more subtle and the fight is less aggressive, more like pulling a tire off the bottom then the strong quick runs of a Redfish.
While fun to catch the bigger fish don’t make for good table fare compared to their slot size smaller cousins. Releasing the larger breeding fish will really help maintain the population of large migratory adults and ensure the entire east coast has a healthy Drum fishery for our children to enjoy. Handling these huge fish can be quite a mess, a bib is a good call unless you want to be throwing slime soaked clothes away after your adventure.
Offshore the Wahoo bite has been incredible this week and we’ve seen big changes in the leaderboard with Frank Vining’s “Walk Thru II” now sitting in the top spot after an amazing couple days of fishing. Over the last several years Frank has cemented himself as a legend in the local tournament scene and nobody should be surprised to see him back in the top slot. With a 311 pound 3 fish aggregate they are now the team to beat and have set the bar high for the rest of the field as we move closer to the end of the tournament window.
Aside from Wahoo the offshore bites been heating up all around with more reports around the ledge of Mahi, Blackfin Tuna, Sailfish, and farther out the Yellowfin Tuna on the other side of the stream. Closer to the beach the Spanish Mackerel are getting thick along the beaches with some big Bluefish mixed in. For bottom fishing the usual suspects are all on the menu with Triggerfish, Vermilion Snapper, Seabass, and Mutton Snapper being the primary targets.
Capt. Frank Vining and the “Walk Thru II” crew with their biggest 3 fish weighing #119 #109 and #82. An insane day of tournament Wahoo fishing that really highlights the skill of this team and the world class quality of our local fishery.
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