Florida Keys backcountry fishing report April 2013

Posted on 4/18/2013

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Florida Keys backcountry fishing forecast April 19-21

Another wonderful week of backcountry fishing in the Florida Keys. The Redfish action in the Everglades National Park has been pretty consistent through out the week and it will continue to be so for the time being. Pretty much any island or mainland shoreline is bound to have not only Redfish but Snook, Trout and the occasional Tarpon. The bays and basins from Key Largo to Flamingo have been holding some monster Trout. All you have to do is find the Mullet muds and cast artificial's with or without popping corks. Make sure not to keep to many of them cause they are all mostly females full of eggs. Back towards Flamingo expect some great Redfish action with Trout and Snook as well. Fish the shallow flats when the water is high and the edges of runoffs and deeper channels as they dry up. The Tarpon and Shark fishing is providing anglers with great fights and some sore arms in the same area. Live or dead mullet or Ladyfish has been the bait of choice.
Can't go wrong in the Cape Sable area this time of the year. Redfish, Snook and Tarpon are all available in the areas of East Cape canal and all the way up the coast. Work the shorelines casting scented soft plastics like Berkley Gulp's on a 1/4 oz jig head. Live baits like Pinfish or Pilchards will get the best action once you located the fish. The Tarpon have been eating live mullet on the surface and on the bottom. Great Sharking action going on as well while Tarpon fishing.
Out on gulf waters the bite continues to be good with some nice Cobia still being found on the wrecks. Awesome Shark bite with many other species available for a fun day of gulf fishing. Keep an eye on the crab trap buoys for Tripletail on your way out specially west off Sandy Key. The Trout bite has been picking up in the area between Schooner and Oxfoot banks. Great action fishing for the hole family with the many other rod benders.

It's Tarpon season and the bite last week was good and should continue to be so. Drift or anchor up on one of the many bridges and adjacent channels from Islamorada down south. The bait of choice for the day time hours has been the Mullet fished both live on the surface or dead on the bottom. When the Sun goes down specially with an outgoing tide drift with some medium size crabs for the best action. Permit fishing continues to be productive while stalking the local banks and deeper edges of ocean side flats. Being stealthy when you locate the fish is the key to guaranty a hook up. Bonefish continue to patrol the ocean side flats through out the Keys. Look for the fish to be Tailing and pushing on the lower stages of the tide and mudding on the higher stages. A Shrimp casted right on target is your best chance for a hookup. Looking forward to great fishing in the up coming month's.

Captain Juan Garcia