Boca Grande, Charlotte Harbor April 2014 Fishing report

Well, March has come and gone! Overall the backcountry flats fishing was very good in March of 2014. I fished nearly everyday as the weather was fairly good, March weather can go from very nice to very bad overnight but overall the fish god’s were looking down upon us and granted us some very good weather and fishing.

Redfish were my main target in March, normally the average size redfish you can expect to catch throughout the year in the Charlotte Harbor estuary are between 5 and 8 pounds. Well, this year I shattered those averages. My AVERAGE sized redfish last month was 15 pounds! I had clients catch MANY that where between 25 and 35 pounds, all in less than 3 feet of water!

I was targeting large grass flats with some sort of structure, i.e. oysterbars nearby. I would fish the edge of the flats where the water would drop from about a foot of water to three feet of water. Most of these fish were caught on cut bait (pinfish) fished on 10 pound braided line with a 25# leader and 3/0 circle hook. If I was going to be redfishing in April I would stay with the same pattern. The water isn’t warm enough for the need to fish under the bushes. These large redfish will continue to roam the open flats looking for shrimp and crabs.

I officialy hung up my flats rods on April 1st just like most every other year. I have been tarpon fishing the last 7 days and won’t target the backcountry again until sometime in November. The tarpon really have not showed up in good numbers as of today. We have been hit by a cold front about every 5 to 7 days for the last 4 weeks. Not good if your a tarpon fisherman in April. However, as of last week the large schools of bait have began to show up inside Charlotte Harbor, any day now the tarpon bite will go off!

Here are a few pictures of some redfish my clients caught last month. I can be reached for charter bookings at 239-825-8791 or you can email me at chuckjenks82@gmail.com I have limited availability in June still. April through May is just about sold out. I think I have 2 or 3 open slots in May and none in April.

Redfishing in Boca Grande

Bill with a 25 pound Boca Grande redfish

30+ pound Charlotte Harbor redfish

28 pound Charlotte Harbor redfish

Boca Grande fishing charters