March in S.W. Florida has some of the greatest weather that we have here in Florida. It makes for a great day on the water to go out and enjoy God's creation. It also can be a great time to target an inshore slam. What is a slam you ask? It is when you catch a snook, redfish, and a trout all in the same day. You could turn it into a grand slam by adding a tarpon to the mix. Or for fun you could target a garbage can slam which is a catfish, ladyfish, and jack crevalle. Save the lady fish to help catch a red for your slam. Use them as cut baits and the reds will smell them out and help you with your slam. Jacks and catfish are great for a  tug-of-war game on the line. This is the type of fun inshore fishing this time of year. In March you can keep one each of these species and they all are good to eat. You can check my website for recipes for each of these fish. There should be some whitebait showing up to harvest, as bait to target these species. I use a 10ft 3/8 mesh cast net most of the time. You may want a ¼ in. net this time of year because the baits are small and get caught in the 3/8 in. which we call a Christmas tree. This is when the small baits get caught in the bigger mesh and are a mess to clean up. If you have the means to have ¼ AND 3/8 nets it is a wonderful thing. The ¼ in. you only use for a few weeks til the baits grow and are large enough to use the 3/8. These are great baits for inshore fishing and offshore. Using these baits offshore this month for bottom fishing, you can target mangrove and lane snapper, as well as flounder. These species should be close to shore on the artificial reefs. Those of you that fish a lot have some of those natural bottom spots that hold these fish. One thing that I do is start each time with frozen baits til the bite slows down, then start with the live bait shrimp or whitebait. You get the bite started with leftover frozen shrimp from some of you past outings. I use squid and frozen sardines too, to get things started. Some have the extra freezer where your wife lets you keep frozen fish bait and chum. I sometimes save the leftover white bait and I have an old chum churn to grind the bait over the side of the boat which works well. This also can be done at night for the snapper when the sun is not out. If you are interested in learning how to catch some of these species or would like me to come on your boat to help you catch some call Capt. Bart Marx 941-979-6517 or e-mail captbart@alphaomegacharters.com  And always remember singing drags and tight lines make me smile. <*(((((>{

March in S.W. Florida is a great time to be on the water. The bait fish are moving back into the local waters. I throw a 10 1/4ft or 3/8 bait net for these baits, over the years we have had several different recipes for chum. We use chum to attract the bait so we may cast the net over them. Back in the day we would mix jack mackerel with dry oatmeal and add some menhaden oil, or another would be kozy-kitten cat food with cornmeal or grits. Today I use tropical fish food mixed with menhaden oil and sea water. This is to get the proper consistency to make golf ball size balls. You toss that to attract bait, throwing it into the same place till you know there is bait there, then you cast the net. In some places you can see the baits and others you have to rely on your electronics / fish finder. Around the markers in some of the deeper holes where you can't see the bottom, this method works well with a 10ft net. If the water is deeper than 15ft or so, it will be less effective as the baits can swim under the net before it lands on the bottom. The next part of this process is to have a live well that pumps in fresh sea water and your well is designed to drain back out of the boat into the water. The well should have no corners, (oval shape or round is best) so the baits can swim around and not run into corners where they will bump their nose and get injured. I buy my nets from Fishin' Franks in Charlotte Harbor. Now you have the proper bait to go fishing for your inshore slam. Inshore slam consists of snook, redfish and trout all in one outing. In March, snook, reds and trout are all open to harvest in Florida waters. All of these species are great table fare too. If you look on my website there are some recipes to cook your bounty. If you would like to come along with Capt. Bart Marx on a Florida fishing adventure to make some memories and learn how to target some of these awesome creatures, give me a call at 941-979-6517 or e-mail me at captbart@alphaomegacharters.com and always remember singing drags and tight lines make me smile. <*(((((>{