MARCH ON THE WATER
Good things happen this month on the waters around Southwest Florida. The kickoff to the spring fishing season is in full effect as we transition out of winter to the warm days of spring.
For the next couple months or until the daily afternoon rains begin, we experience the clearest water of the year along our coast. It’s the perfect time to explore the inshore and nearshore waters, learn new areas, and look for fish or locate and mark structure that looks fishy.
Over the winter months we have endless days with low tides and little water to navigate. That will change and make it possible to fish areas that were not accessible over the past several months. Spring tides arrive with higher water over daytime hours. Yes, we still have low water, but not all day every day. Combine the incoming tides with the clean water and you will find some great days to explore.
This is the month to catch the largest sea trout of the year. They are aggressive as they head into spawning season and feed on a variety of baits. It’s common to catch trout to 24 inches with the possibility of even larger fish. They are often in schools, if you’re lucky enough to come across a school of big ones it can provide nonstop action.
As the coastal waters warm it triggers some of the best snook fishing of the year. When the water rises to 70 degrees or above and holds, snook become very active, on the move, and hungry. Like many of our gamefish, their primary diet consists of oily baitfish that invade the warming waters. Snook of all sizes are a blast to catch.
Higher water this month allows for good opportunities to catch redfish along mangrove shorelines and oyster bars. It’s possible to catch redfish, snook, and large sea trout from the same area along shorelines and oyster bars. Anglers looking for a challenge have early morning low tides to hunt redfish tailing over the shallow flats.
The winter sheepsheads run winds down over the month. There’s still a chance to land a few big ones around inshore structure and nearshore reefs, but not in the numbers as previous months. Inshore, tasty pompano and permit are caught fishing with shrimp or small pompano jigs. They often run in schools and prefer a hard or sand bottom along channel edges, bar dropoffs, and around the beaches.
Spanish mackerel is a great fish to catch as they are ferocious feeders, lightning fast, run in schools, and offer a great fight. Prepared fresh, they offer excellent table fare that is often overlooked. To me they are the perfect fish when looking for fun and action. When mackerel are present odds are good that sharks are nearby, sharks love snacking on mackerel.
Offshore, on days with calm seas there are good opportunities for a variety of fish including reef dwellers like snapper, grouper, grunts, porgies, sheepsheads, and others. As the water warms, schools of fast-moving Spanish and king mackerel, false albacore, or bonito, and possibly some blackfin tuna are making their way up the coast and busting up any schooling baitfish they encounter, often well within sight of land. Cobia are prowling gulf waters, and many are hooked around artificial reefs. They can get big; keep a few heavy rods rigged and ready, you never know what may show up. Tripletail is a possibility. Most are sighted hanging under floating debris, buoys, and structure. Tarpon start showing off the coast, beginning to the south and moving north. Just how early this happens in the month is based on the weather and water temperature.
March weather is often all over the place. Cool days, windy at times, and perfect sunny days are expected as we move into the warm season. Overall, it’s a great month to get on the water and enjoy good fishing.
For charter information, please contact us at Gulf Coast Guide Service and “Catch the Action” with Capt. Bill Russell, call or text (239) 410-8576, website: http://www.fishpineisland.com, email: [email protected].
Capt. Bill Russell is a native and lifelong resident of Pine Island who has spent his entire life fishing the waters surrounding Pine Island and Southwest Florida. For the past 29 years, Bill has been a professional fishing guide who takes pride in customizing each trip to ensure everyone on board has a great time and will return again. Come join us and “Catch the Action.”
