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Captain's Corner: Trout bite at its best

 
Published June 17, 2018

The trout bite has been the best I've seen all year. Fish up to 26 inches have been common recently. Fish are sitting on the flats' deeper edges, where the water is deeper and cooler, and moves a little more swiftly. Live sardines and hard plastic baits that imitate pilchards are spot on right now. Long shanks are a must because mackerel have been mixed in with trout. The trout don't seem to mind the long shanks. A 2/0 in size with a 40-pound mono leader has been the right rig the past few weeks. Keep your eyes open and watch for cobia while fighting trout, mackerel or even catfish, because cobia are trying to eat them off the hook. Pulling the fish out and dropping a live pinfish in its place results in solid hookups. Tarpon have been here and there at the bridges. If you're willing to fish in the dark, the odds are in your favor of getting a hook into a boney-jawed flying blur of silver.

Tim Whitfield can be reached at (813) 714-0889 or tim@swiftfishcharters.com.