Springtime has always been a good time for folks to get back into fishing and leave winter doldrums behind.Traditionally, bait returns to the creeks in May, turning on the inshore fishery, and the bluewater offshore is full of fish eager to take a bait. Finally, the addition of warmer water allows anglers to get revved up about boating and fishing plans.
Starting inshore, keep a check on the smaller creeks for any schools of bait. The waters in these creeks will warm faster on bright, sunny days than deeper waters, and that can really pull in the baitfish.
First, you’ll see baby shrimp, or krill, followed by small mud minnows and a few small finger mullet. Think small bait doesn’t matter? Think again, because the gamefish that you’re after know how to make a living off of these earliest arrivals.
The first fish you catch in early May might actually be under the size limit, but you can’t go wrong tuning up your favorite flounder technique on some 10-inch fish. The same thing goes with the trout and the reds. Who cares if they are undersized? You can practice handling them safely when you release them.
Keep on fishing, and in a matter of weeks, you will see that the bait has increased in size, the schools have become much larger, and the gamefish you catch will be filling out nicely.
Try fishing at a favorite old spot — or maybe break in a new one; it’s all good practice for later on, when the time is right. Of course, the time is right whenever you can shake free and get on the water. So be ready when the opportunity arrives by anchoring up at a good spot and fishing it on the bottom or with a float, during both the flood and ebb tides, so you’ll know how to play it later on. The more tuned in you are on your fishing spot, the less fish you will miss, and by the end of May you may be missing some real nice-sized fish — as in, good-sized for the skillet.
As you motor from spot to spot, keep an eye out for pods of menhaden. When this oily baitfish shows up — and once again, the earliest ones will be small — the spring fishing drag race is officially underway.
All sorts of gamefish follow menhaden into the harbors and up the creeks, and it becomes a fishing derby. One of the favorite arrivals is the jack crevalle, and here’s a tip: they are here sooner than you think, so get after them!
Spanish mackerel and king mackerel also follow the menhaden, and while the smaller Spanish might be scarce inshore during May, kings will be plentiful in our nearshore waters. Little tunny, or false albacore, can be spotted in nearshore waters, so keep some extra Hopkins spoons handy. Whether fishing for mackerel of the albacore, plan on losing some spoons to the toothy critters; it’s just a part of fishing.
Offshore, the charter boats and the big custom sportfishers will be trolling for dolphin, wahoo, tuna and billfish. These species are taking part in a northward migration, and deep-water anglers know just where to head them off. Schools of yellowfin tuna are usually the first to show up in good numbers, but they are also the first to press on northward, making them a scarce commodity into June and July. But dolphin and the wahoo are thick in May, and they tend to be available in good numbers until August.
Each year, offshore anglers have high hopes of tangling with the man in the blue suit, the blue marlin. Close calls in the past are just that, in the past, and every new hook-up reinvigorates them that this could be the one! During offshore tournaments, boats use techniques — like fishing larger baits — that keep other fish potentially from crashing the party. But most of the time, experienced crews will run a large spread of baits with a variety of sizes offered.
You never know when a big blue, a white marlin, or even a sailfish, is gonna smash your smallest bait simply because he wants to. Large trolling spreads yield all sorts of gamefish, keeping offshore anglers amused with a variety of ocean-dwelling fish.
Yes sir, spring is a great time to get back on the water, prepping for those long summer afternoons that allow for some fishing time after the work day is over. Remember to keep tabs on the bait. Have you found some early arrivals? Did the schools containing more than 20 baitfish, or less? Did they all slip through your cast-net (because of size) or did some get caught up in it. Knowing your bait sizes will help you to catch more fish because when you find the right-sized bait — the fish will let you know!
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