"Fishing was Killer today!" commented Capt. Jason Rucker as he came breezing into my home office the other day. "We caught 12 Reds, 6 to 9 pounds on flies. Several of our more experienced fly fishing anglers could have hooked 3 times that many today, thats how thick they are right now. As long as it is warm enough, the red fishing especially is great." Today, Tom Hylden from Maryland fished with Capt. Tommy, his first guided trip ever. (Tom's, not Tommy's) In spite of windy conditions of 25-30 mph wind, seas 1.5 to 2 ft, he caught 9 redfish up to 6.5 lbs and 3 Trout 3 to 4 lbs. Water temps were back up from 67 degrees first thing this morning to 73 this afternoon. Steve Jukes hauled in a 40 pound Redfish with Capt. Chad today! Tis the Season!

Tommy got home mid day Saturday from Everglades City after being gone for 2.5 months. We took a late afternoon ride down to our Water Street Dock in time to see the cooler load off Capt. Chads boat caught by Faison Middletons group. Sheepshead, Seatrout & Redfish seemed to be the catch du jour. Of course they had to release the forty bull reds up to 35 lbs each that they hooked up. Capt. Larry Covell, who also manages the dock where we meet our Bayfishing clients, has been working feverishly on their latest project, an Oyster bar (Raw Bar, Boiled Shrimp?) right on the waterfront at 317 Water St. located at the mouth of Scipio Creek, overlooking the Apalachicola River. Look for a May-June opening. They have also put in a new, more sanitary formica topped fish cleaning table. Thanks Larry!

If the number of anglers on the rocks every morning is any indication, it looks as if the pompano have come in pretty strong but the few chilly mornings weve had has slightly adversely affected the bite. If you have been considering coming down to fish our area, for Flats fishing, Tommy and Chris both have dates open through the end of April and our other guides have some availability through the end of May and into the middle of June. July & August dates are also available. Bay fishing guides are available every day.

May fishing forecast: If you are a loyal reader, you have heard me refer to May as EVERYTHING month. Plan on catching Redfish, Spotted Seatrout, Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, Ladyfish, Sheepshead, Little tunny, Cobia, Flounder, Pompano & Black Drum. Tripletail and Tarpon start showing up the end of the month, first of June and are best in the bay by Mid June to Mid September.

Happy Easter Yall!

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