Hello fellow anglers March in S. W. Florida and fishing is on the rise with the water temperatures. Inshore there should be plenty of redfish around to target. March and April will be the times you will still be able to use live shrimp. This is the time of year that the shrimp head out into the Gulf . There could also be some white bait starting to move back into the inshore areas where we normally see them. This is the time of year that you should use a 1/4 inch mesh cast net because the baits still very small and will make a Christmas tree out of your 3/8 mesh net. So back to the red fish . They should be found in some the sand holes that are in the grass flats. They can also be found trolling along the mangrove edges throwing artificials. Yea gold spoons, and soft plastics will produce some nice fish. If you have live shrimp or white bait slow down and you could use a float and fish some of the mouths of creeks or points with moving water. I most of the time buy my live shrimp from Fishin Franks in Charlotte Harbor. And on the grass flats there should be plenty of speckled trout to target too. They like the reds will lay on the edges of the sand holes and ambush unsuspecting passing baits shrimp under a cork or popping bobber. Or if you like to cast you can throw suspending lures like the Mirrodine or catch 2000 or even top water plugs. So lets ease out into the Gulf , close to shore out to 50 feet you can find plenty of ledges that will hold mangrove snapper, grunts , porgies , and even lane snapper. Also there may be some flounder around too. I have learned to bring several different types of frozen baits to get the bite started and find what they want most. After a while the bite will start to slow down change frozen types or if you have tried all that it is time to change. Well if you brought some live white bait or live shrimp this is the time to use them. Some anglers start with live then all you have is frozen that is like feeding some one  steak then trying to feed them hamburger. And if you run out to 100 feet you may find some nice red grouper and on some wrecks Yellow tail snapper. By this time of year there should be some nice weather to get out ther and get some fresh fish for the freezer. So if you would like to go along with Capt. Bart Marx to learn some of these techniques give me a call at 941-979-6517 or e-mail at captbart@alphaomegacharters.com Or I also will come with you on your boat for a training session, to show you where you can take your boat and how to use the gear that you have. Like I said give me a call. So always remember singing drags and tight lines make me smile. <*(((((>{

Hello fellow anglers, February 2023 can you believe it.  And the end of 2022 was not so good for Capt. Bart. But I am past all that and back up to speed. This is the time of year that the sheepshead will be all along the coastal docks and close reefs. This the time of year that they spawn offshore. The close reefs that are in forty feet or less would be a great place to start. There are some natural ledges that would hold these convicts. Sheepshead like crustaceans like shrimp, sand fleas, and fiddler crabs, etc. Use a small hook 1/0 or smaller and a small piece of bait there mouth is small. I like to use a twenty pound suffix clear mono leader and a one ounce egg weight with the hook at the end, a knocker rig. I use VMC hooks and suffix fishing line twenty pound performance braid hi vis yellow. When I tie on my leader I think of a fly rod, I make the leader as long as the rod itself. This way it keeps the hook away from the colored line as not to spook the fish. Doing this same rig in the same areas with live shrimp you may find flounder in the same areas. This also is the time of year that they wander offshore and get along the beaches too. Trout can be found along the bars on the deeper sides searching for unsuspecting bait to ambush. A typical trout rig is a quarter ounce jig head with a shrimp and a popping bobber. Or if you find a hungry school of them you may try some top water lures, like a Zara spook or a devils horse. They will also feed on suspending lures like the catch 2000 or a mirror-dine suspending lure. Or going back to the popping bobber you may use a gulp shrimp three inch I buy the three color tubs they last  longer. So if you would like to come along with Capt. Bart to learn some of these techniques or you are new to the area and have your own boat I can come along with you on a training trip. Or if you have guests coming from out of state I have the license and the gear to get the job done. So give Capt. Bart Marx a call 941-979-6517 or e-mail me at captbart@alphaomegacharters.com to schedule your Florida fishing adventure. And always remember singing drags and tight lines make me smile <*(((((>{