The fishing was on the slow side for about a week following the full moon. The full moon created higher tides than normal which makes it much harder to find fish. The good news is that the action has begun to pick up again now that the moon is subsiding. Trout, redfish, flounder, jacks, ladyfish and mangrove snapper are all biting. Even some fish that are not normally caught in the ICW have been brought to the boat. Which fish might that be that have been caught you ask? Well I’ll tell you.

Let me start by telling you that in 20 plus years of fishing the ICW and backwaters I have never had a Tripletail brought to my boat. All that changed this past Monday. I had Al and Becky Jacquay from Indiana on board for a ½ day trip and had them fishing with live shrimp. The first spot we stopped they had a couple of small trout and a few jacks. We then moved on to the next spot when Becky hooked into a fish that put a wicked bend in the rod. At first glance I wasn’t sure whet kind of fish it was. As it tired and came to the boat I couldn’t believe she had a Tripletail on. We got it in the boat, snapped a few pics then put it on ice for Becky and Al to have for dinner. Later on in the day Becky also landed a Ribbonfish, also not a common catch in the ICW. What’s next a Great White??

I still haven’t seen any tarpon in the ICW or canals that I fish but I do expect to start seeing them soon. I also haven’t heard of any in the surf. I do however expect to see them with in the next week or so. They usually appear when the first sea turtle nest hatches and the first nest hatches next week. Also, as schools of Menhaden start showing up the tarpon will be with them as this is one of their primary food sources. Hope you’re geared up and ready for them.

The flounder bite in the ICW should start to really turn on in the next few weeks. More fish should be caught and the size of them should start to get bigger.

It’s also a good time to start hitting the dock lights at night for nonstop trout action. Look for dock lights that are close to the water for your best action. The closer the light is to the water the more bait it attracts. The more bait the better your chances of finding fish.