Hello folks and welcome to paradise! There is a lot happening in the world of fishing in April. In fact, a lot of people would tell you that it is the most exciting saltwater fishing month of the year!!

Cobia or Ling are caught seasonably off the coast of Northwest Florida and start showing up in March and peaking in April and May. In fact, the first cobias have already been caught at the Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier. These large fish migrate north from South Florida in the early spring. For the fisherman on the pier, they generally monitor piers like Panama City, Okaloosa Piers and in earlier days the Navarre pier to gauge when they will be arriving here off Pensacola. Since the hurricanes, the early warning network has been somewhat disabled, meaning catching the first cobia comes at a surprise.

There are two means by which you can catch cobia off Pensacola Beach. One is to buy a pass at the Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier and sight fish for them. Most anglers at the pier will fish at the end of the pier with an array of cobia jigs. Once a fish is spotted, the more seasoned fisherman will quietly cast beyond the fish jigging back. My friend Kenny Wade and his son crab cast on objects in the water or on the beach.

Large cobia can be caught from the Pensacola Beach Fishing Pier and by boat throughout the month of April. The second way is by boat. In the early spring if you are on the beach any nice day you will see all kinds of boats with towers running up and down the beach just outside the sandbars searching for these tasty fish. These anglers will get in towers providing them with a sight advantage and look for the schools of cobia swimming on the bottom looking for food.

Now, aboard the boats cobia fisherman and women will use cobia jigs, however, some will use eels or live bait as well. My preference is live eels, which do a great job of getting the fish's attention most of the time. Again, the technique is the same casting beyond the fish and gently bringing your bait back toward the fish. Now, if you do not have a boat for Cobia fishing, do not worry .Pensacola Beach offers charter boats that specialize in cobia fishing.

Even though Red Snapper is closed until June 1, there are still lots of exciting fish to be caught offshore. Personally, I enjoy catching Trigger Fish, grouper and Amberjack which are some of my favorite fish to eat. Also, there is Mingo Snapper and some of them get pretty nice size which we call "footballs". The fact is, they are some of the best fried fish you will eat.

Another fish being caught a lot in our area that gets little attention and is very tasty is Sheepshead. Right now, anglers are catching plenty of sheepshead on the pier and Bob Sykes Bridge. If you have a boat, the most popular spot is at Fort Pickens at the pier there. To catch these fish you will need a smaller hook and frozen shrimp or fiddler crabs. The technique for sheepshead is to fish along the pilings of the pier or the bridge. When you get a bite, set the hook and reel fast getting them away from the pilings. The barnacles on the pilings can cut your line fast.

If you are into fresh fish, this month the Bass will be on bed, and Escambia and Santa Rosa has lots of lakes and rivers that produce some nice bass. I am looking for a guide who will help me on reporting about some of our fresh-water fishing, so if you know someone, have them get in touch with me.