Tarpon Springs fishing guide, Caprt. Rich Knox of longtime guide service Absolute Florida Flats Fishing reports with the normal spring weather pattern’s the inshore flats fishing is really Good at this time. there is plenty of bait around in the gin clear waters this spring. pilchard’s, pinfish, grunt’s and threadfin herring are all producing Bg spawning Snook, Red-fish, Tarpon, and there are still some good trout to be had on the West Central Florida Gulf Coast. The other day I had the pleasure of having one of my regular client’s John Cornish on board for a 1/2 day flats fishing trip, john caught multiple large Snook to 40″ and 30 lbs. some nice trout, and some just in the slot red-fish all on fresh castnetted pilchard’s ! Fishing on the beach’s there are many Tarpon pod’s with willing fish have a good appetite, with the same pilchard’s, small blue crab’s or a pinfish or threadfin herring under a cork placed in the right place almost always gets eaten if your not having success with a particular pod of fish, venture slowly down the beach until you spot another school of fish on top, or over the sand. Stealth is the most important part and etiquette , use a trolling motor on a low speed and lead the lea fish by at least 10′ and let they fish swim to your offering, when you see the flash and the a decent bump using a live bait hook 4/0 to 5/0, reel fast until tight and when the drag starts singing set the hook a couple good times before he/she goes airborne ! When the line starts racing away from you and coming out of the water get your rod-tip high in the air and as soon as the fish break’s the surface bow down and give these hard fighting sport-fish as much slack as you can, tie and time again ! TIGHT LINES !!
