Captain’s Corner: Ed Walker

The Tampa Bay Times

By Ed Walker

April is the peak month for spotted sea trout spawning. Schools of the bigger trout will aggregate in the passes and can often be found along the beach early in the morning. Its is not uncommon to find groups of a hundred or more in shallow water with sand bottom. The fish spawn at night but will still be massed in the morning until the sun gets up and they move off to nearby deeper water.

To find them try idling along the beach on calm days until you see a few shoot by. Then approach very quietly. Once you startle the school they will all run to deeper water and not come back. Ideally you locate them and cast from as far away as you can. We sometimes pull the boat up onto the beach and walk to where the fish are sitting to avoid spooking them.

If you get it all lined up right its not unusual to catch and release 20 or 30 good sized specks. They are eager to eat a jig or livebait and once they start biting they will rally and can produce double and triple hookups.

Keep in mind that harvest of spotted seatrout remains closed from the Hernando/Pasco County line to Gordon Pass in Naples. They do survive catch and release well so fishing them in the daytime is unlikely to disrupt their night spawning rituals. Be sure to use only single hooks, never hold them with a towel or rag, and if predatory dolphins show up its best to move somewhere else.