The near shore kayak king fishing bite was a big dud this month for me off the beaches in the Bay Area.  The weather got way to warm to quick and the season was over before it even began.  But the warm weather didn’t stop other species from firing things up.

Trout action has been good on the flats with shrimp and soft plastic lures.  Snook action has been good too, with better action still in winter spots.  We were not able to dial in any hogs this month, but that will change soon with summer months dawning and trophy fish eager to feast at the passes on whitebait, grass grunts and pinfish.

The beach mitigation reefs are holding nice numbers of tasty key west grunts with some flounder, mangos, and black sea bass mixed in.  This fishing is very weather dependent and when the gulf kicks up, beach kayak fishing shuts down. When conditions with wind and water clarity are favorable this type of charter is probably my most popular.  Fishing with light tackle is a blast and the action is pretty steady. It also passes the time for soaking a live pinfish on the bottom for big grouper or some cut bait off the reef for cobia or sharks.

Fishing for reds near spoil islands or grass flats has also been consistent and should only get better as summer months roll in.  We have been getting nice slot sized fish with cut bait and dead sticked in rod holders and wait for reds to come to us.  It allows using multiple rods with a  a greater spread and the best part is freeing up hands to enjoy lunch and even a nice cigar.  On a recent trip to Weedon Island my brother and I staked out a nice flat where big reds were patrolling.  We deployed some fresh cut mullet and then fired up some cigars.  The reds never cooperated, but I couldn’t have imagined a better way to spend a beautiful spring day on the water fishing, pondering life, appreciating creation, and enjoying a good smoke.

If you enjoy cigars let me know and I will definitely set you up on my charters!!

Fish On,

Joe

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