With the long hard winter behind us, anglers on Florida’s Space Coast eagerly embrace the returning summer heat, warming water temperatures and the return of pelagic species to the east Florida waters. Many tropical and sub-tropical species of fish migrated south or to deeper waters during the winter, and as the days grow longer and the waters warms, they return to or migrate back through our rich coastal waters.

Ten days of freezing weather in January served a cruel blow to many of our inshore species of fish and wildlife, but several species like redfish and black drum suffered very little impact. On the flats, redfish and black drum will provide the majority of the action for light tackle spin and fly anglers. A large number of breeder-size sea trout and snook were trapped in shallow water and expired during the extended freeze, so if you target sea trout or snook, please practice catch and release to give the fishery a chance to rebound. Additionally, as the water warms up, jack crevalle, ladyfish, snook, and tarpon will begin to show up. Currently, the Port Canaveral Locks and the power plants in Port Saint John are loaded with jacks and ladyfish.

Offshore in the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, spring marks the beginning of the fishing season for many blue water anglers with the commencement of the spring dolphin run. In mid to late March and April, significant numbers of migrating dolphin begin to return or pass through our region, with some of the largest bulls caught all year arriving first. These larger fish are soon followed by concentrated schools, which begin to thin out near the end of May. As we move in closer along the near-shore reefs and wrecks in 60 to 90 feet of water, kingfish numbers will increase and cobia are still commonplace.

Along the beach, pods of baitfish, Atlantic menhaden (pogies), threadfin herring (greenies), and bay anchovies (glass minnows), move in close shadowed by ocean predators. It is not uncommon to find schools of large jack crevalle and redfish, blacktip sharks, cobia, and tarpon within these bait pods creating a mixed bag of angling opportunity. To locate bait pods, simply look for diving birds, flipping and jumping bait, and busting fish.

When fishing in Florida this spring, please practice conservation and good ethics and enjoy your time on the water.


Good luck and good fishing,

Captain Tom Van Horn