Spanish mackerel show up every spring when the water hits the right temperature and the bait fish show up followed closely by the spanish mackerel right behind them. The reason this means so much to me is that in our bay and inshore gulf, when the bait fish shows up everything begins to start firing off. As the bait fish move into the bay the trout and redfish will begin feeding in the shallower waters.
This past weekend we fished in the 2018 sheepshead shootout tournament and what a day of fishing it was. We had a steady bite throughout the whole day and ended up catching a solid fish to weigh in but came up a pound short. The winning fish was 9.6lbs and ours weighed in at 8.6lbs.
The sheepshead have begin making their move out to the gulf for their migration and are they hungry. The past few days we have had a good grade of fish with them all weighing 5-7lbs. In the mix of fishing for sheepshead we have also been catching nice redfish. The majority of them are over the slot and are measuring between 28-32". As for in the back bay the trout and mangrove snapper are starting to show up and we are still catching redfish and an occasional blackdrum.
Out in the gulf the spanish mackerel have showed up along with a few king mackerels. There have also been reports of an occasional blackfin being caught in our area while trolling. As far as bottom fishing goes the bite is hot. Trigger fish opened up on March 1st so you can add them to the list of species we are able to bring home. We are also catching some mingos and white snappers. The red snappers and amberjack continue to be closed but we are catching plenty of them to take photos with and release. Spring time is one of the best times in our area to fish so make sure to give us a call and get out on the water if you are planning a trip to Destin, Fl for spring break.