Spring fishing is upon us and it has lived up to all of my expectations! Weather has just been great, we have finally seen the cold fronts come to an end and consistent warm weather has really made the fish start to feed. SNOOK- are in full swing for the spring season; they have moved out of their favorite winter areas and started to move into the backcountry and flats of the beautiful Tampa Bay. I have been finding just about every pass, creek mouth, and pothole loaded with hungry linesiders. The key to really have a banner day is to find the white bait. This can be challenging at times but if you search the markers and bridges you will start to find bait. A heavy net is a must. My favorite is the Calusa 10ft 3/8 mesh; it has plenty of weight and will put the bait in your boat.

Since the water has been really clean Snook tend to be very spooky at times. I like to use #25 fluorocarbon leader (about 2 ft) matched with a #1 model #D85Z Bleeding circle hook. I like the bleeding hooks because they make the bait fish look like they are bleeding at the mouth and it hides the hook. Again with all pressure on fish these days every little bit helps. I like to tie a double Uni knot with my line to leader and a loop knot with the leader to hook. This combination of good knots and tackle will increase your number of landed fish. BEST OF THE REST- Snook are not the only fish to target this month. As March comes to an end the mullet start to show up, and with the mullet come Redfish.

They start to school up on the flats I search of Shrimp, Pinfish, Greenbacks, and many other types of food. And don’t forget the big schools of Black Drum that have invaded the bay. Black Drum, the brother of Redfish, are on the deeper flats in the bay and they are a ball to catch. You can use live shrimp tipped with a 1/8 once jig head. Just sit back and hold on! Captain Jason Prieto is a native resident of Tampa and has fished Tampa Bay and its surrounding waters for the past 20 years. He is owner and operator of Steady Action Fishing Charters which is based out of lower Tampa Bay. To book a charter, you can reach him at 813-727-9890 or www.steadyactionfishingcharters.com. If you would like to catch him on the radio tune into Outdoor Fishing Adventures Saturday mornings from 8am to 10am on 1040AM ESPN radio. Tight lines!!!!