Inshore fishing just before this cold front hit with some great clients. The trout bite has been great, an easy limit for a fresh dinner. Trout are hanging out in our grassy flats of Boca Grande. They were biting on a mix of live bait, shrimp and small pinfish on a jighead. Switching it up to some artificial soft plastics and topwater plugs. Van pictured below with one of his trout catches.
Redfish have been getting hooked on a similar setup. Live pinfish on a jighead or if you're finding it to be a difficult bite try cut bait to appeal to the fish's sense of smell. Recently we have been using a product called Flats Magic from Aquatic Nutrition. When you find your favorite place on the flat, we throw a few handfuls out around where we are fishing. It also comes with a disposable chum bag. These pellets are made with over 80% shrimp combined with squid, shellfish bits and baitfish oil.
Sheepshead are still around and enjoying are cool inshore and nearshore water temps. Best bait for these have been live shrimp on a 2-3/0 circle hook with a weight. They have been hanging around heavy debris areas on the flats such as downed trees and heavy mangrove roots. Larger jacks have been terrorizing local canals. A fun catch and a great shark bait, its almost that time. The BIG guys ( Sharks & Tarpon) will be here in no time.
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