I guess we are skipping spring fishing this year and moving directly into summer stuff. Thank our extremely warm weather over the winter for that I guess. I will also blame the enormous lack of cooperation from the spinner sharks this winter on the weather, mainly because I do not know what else to blame it on. Lots of sharks…very few interested in playing the fly game. Very similar to tarpon fishing actually…lots of looking, seeing, casting. Hooking, not so much….
But everything else was fairly par for the course as winter fare goes. Ravenous bluefish, Spanish mackerel, ladyfish. Pompano and Cobia numbers were down, just not enough cold weather to push them down from the northern waters. In recent weeks, schools of big,(and I mean big,”not sure I want to hook that thing”big) Jack Crevalle have been both on the beach in good numbers periodically, and very consistent out on the deep water wrecks. Sinking lines, big flies and Hang On!
The Cobia have made a strong showing in recent weeks following the station wagon sized Bull sharks around the reef edge. The Bulls are feeding on the early False Albacore arrivals, as well as Huge schools of Lessor Amber-jacks. Unfortunately, hooking a Cobia will get the attention of the Bulls, and if you not lucky enough to get said Cobia back to the boat in short order, you get a real feel for the “agony of defeat”…
There were small numbers of dolphin,(and Albies for that matter) around all winter, whereas in a typical winter, they all but disappear until right about now. So the early waves of dolphin, and albies and King mackerel are just reinforcing what was already here. I think,(speculate, hope, forecast, whatever…) a good long season will be had on all the aforementioned critters.