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It’s Snapper season, so Wet a hook
April is traditionally known as the month when fishing season kicks off and tournament season begins. You might find it hard to decide what you want to target this month, but some of your options are cobia, pompano, snapper, trout, or redfish.
Many anglers will spend every minute they have free searching the beaches for cobia this month. These fish average anywhere from 20 to 80 pounds with an occasional larger one.
Cobia migrate to the gulf coast as the water warms up, this year fish were caught with the water temperature in the lower 60s, but once it hits 70 it really turns on and more fish begin to move through. If your going to give the cobia a shot be sure to have live eels, which are available at Gulf Breeze Bait & Tackle, along with some cobia jigs.
Surf fishing for pompano is also very popular in the month of April.
Pompano are another migrating fish that really like seventy degree water, even though we have many resident pompano that live here year around its much better fishing in April. Sandfleas are the ideal bait for pompano, but fresh shrimp will work as well.
Then there's those other anglers waiting for April twenty first to roll around. That's the day red snapper season opens in federal waters, some begin fishing the week before in state waters, which is nine nautical miles from the beach.
Snapper season has been closed since last November, so many of the bottom spots are loaded with fish, which makes for excellent fishing the first few weeks its open.
For inshore anglers the grass flats are the place to be. Speckled trout are very abundant on the grass flats beginning in April and lasting until winter when they move back into the canals and rivers. I believe this year there'll be more redfish caught on the flats that usually considering many of the docks they once lurked under are gone.
Spring time is excellent for searching Pensacola Pass and the beach for schooling fish. You may come across redfish, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, pompano, or ladyfish. A spoon will ordinarily do the trick for all these species.
Spring only comes once a year, so don't waste your time standing on land.
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