March 3rd, 2025
I’d say the past week was consistent, not spectacular but a solid bite. Water temp was in the 70 to 72 degree range. We had a new moon in the middle of the week and that brought some stronger tides that produced more fish. I myself only got out for a day last week, I launched the skiff out of Goodland and stayed closer only ran around 6-7 miles south. In the morning low tide I threw paddle tails on a jig and produced a solid trout bite in their usual holes in the backwater with a few snapper in the mix. After the trout bite my usual winter routine is to throw cut bait for snook and reds since live bait is hard to come by at the moment. So I caught a few ladyfish and hit a handful of spots working back towards Goodland but unfortunately came up empty. Talking to some Captains in Goodland there is a consistent trout bite and a jig and shrimp are producing snapper and sheepshead but the snook and reds were spotty with some doing good one day then nothing the next.
The weather looks good today and Tuesday with some wind coming in Wednesday and Thursday, then the tide is a step incoming for end of the week and weekend so it’s a little tougher to produce a bite. We are getting closer to spring every week which brings live bait close, big snook and tarpon off the beach, my favorite time of year to fish. With some warmer days coming the fishing is only going to get better.