Tampa, Fla. (WFLA) – Spring is the perfect time to target trout in the bay. Because you don’t have to go far to catch them and you don’t get too loud with what they want to eat right now.
8 Your side Amanda Holly traveled with local charter captain Ryan Harrington and saw what was best for him this year. He said he wanted to start with “3-6 feet of water and salt and pepper bottom,” a patch of grass and sand on flats. He said the trout would sit on the edge of grass and sand.
At this time of the year, Harrington said artificial plastic bait works well. We used Mirror Allil John Twitch Bait, which serves live fish baits at this time of year.
“The good thing about this bait is that there is no wrong way to work it. It mimics shrimp in the water. They bounce their tails when they’re tense, making them unstable in all directions,” Harrington said.
He describes the movement he uses, “pop, pop, drop.” The speed of each “pop, pop” depends on the day. If you can’t get bitten by four or five casts, switch speed.
Harrington also said that if you notice that your tail is bitten by your bait, you will be too slow and you are likely to have reached it. If you’re catching lots of female fish, you’re probably too fast.
As long as the water is moving on top of the flat, the tide is not that important. It’s a fun and delicious fish to catch by the whole family. Trouts have a really fun battle in the spring, and trout over 20 inches are considered gator trout.
In the summer they could be a little later and their meat wouldn’t be too hard, but Harrington’s tip was to make a mass cake.
If you use these tips to catch a trout this spring, be sure to send it to Amanda Holly!
