Sight casting time of Year
Capt. Kyle Messier
May 5, 2008
Crystal River - Saltwater Fishing Report
April and May are two of my favorite months of the year to fish (besides the other 10). With hardly any rain and almost perfect weather days it's no wonder why people come from all over the world to fish the famous flats of Crystal River and Homosassa area in search of many of the most challenging inshore species on the planet. During the months of April, May, and June many migratory fish begin taking up residency along our coast due to the overabundance of bait our area has. Every Spring acres and acres of bait pods show up along the shallows and always right behind them are the Tarpon, Cobia, Sharks, Redfish, SeaTrout, and Spanish Mackerel. With all of these fish foraging in the same areas it is not uncommon to catch 10+ species of fish on an average day.
Lately our area has had its fair share of Spanish mackerel, cobia, and sharks. But the main highlight so far of the month has been the arrival of the Tarpon. Now our area has tons of resident fish which run anywhere from 40-200 pounds, but trust me when I say they didn't get that big by being stupid. Our resident fish tend to never leave the rivers but when the migration route of the southern pods approach it's always a sight to see. On a good day its not uncommon to see over 200-300 fish or so "daisy chaining" off the flats. Recently my clients and I have encountered smaller pods of the Silver Kings having multiple hook-ups but landing 0. Keep an eye on the website as I am sure that will change in the next coming weeks.
On a better note the Redfish bite has been one of the best bites I personally have seen in years. We are now in the heart of the best Redfish run our area will see until August and September. Seeing schools of 30-40 fish are an everyday occurrence and I have even seen the same 100-150 fish school on numerous occasions. The trick when fishing these huge pods of reds which ranging from 5-18 pounds is a stealthy approach. I like to approach an area where I know there have been big schools of fish with either my trolling motor or a perfect drift. A perfect drift can be sometimes hard to due mainly because of the wind and current but if a perfect drift can be accomplished you can almost assure yourself 10+ hookups. When I set up on a school I try to throw a variety of baits both artificial and live. As I am approaching a school of fish I will always start by throwing a Berkley Gulp! 3-inch shrimp. This is an excellent search bait that allows my anglers to cover a ton of ground during a short period of time. Once I am PowerPoled down on the school I will then start pitching out live shrimp or pinfish, followed closely by cut mullet. I try to have a variety of baits aboard every charter because you never know what may turn on a hungry school of fish from day-to-day. I firmly believe the more I can offer a school of fish the better the chances are that I will turn them on to one bait. Then WHAM! Were all hooked up!
So if tight lines and long drag screaming runs gets your blood boiling, give Red Hot Fishing Charters a call today. We are in the Fishing Memories business.
Capt. Kyle Messier
(352) 634-4002
[email protected]
WWW.REDHOTFISHINGCHARTERS.COM
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