PC/PCB Fishing Report 3-28-25
The winds are down and most of our species are lighting up! It is definitely time to get out there on the days you can. We are expecting some weather over the weekend, but not any cold weather. Get out there! Read this weeks report first!
Bay Fishing
The bite has definitely picked up all over the bay. The canals at night are having very nice trout coming up under dock lights looking for some minnows and such attracted to the light. An incoming tide helps a lot. A live shrimp is irresistible to most of them! LOTS of them are lurking right now! Find that dock with a light and come get some live shrimp!
Our tides are at night as of Thursday, but they begin the switch over to morning next week, but go through a couple of days of neap tides first. Morning tides are great for sheephead and spanish.
The spanish have arrived for sure. There are those getting limits in an hour! Others have struggled a bit but it kind of goes that way early. The good news is that the spanish are of decent size. A size “00” Clarkspoon is usually a good start to match the hatch but try moving up to a “0” or Size 1. Make sure you have the red beaded one since they work well early.
There are sheephead out in the pass that are being caught. It is not like it use to be, but there are still some nice fish out there. Live shrimp and fiddler crabs usually work, but this time of year, a live shrimp usually wins out. Take some fiddlers too because just like us they sometimes key in on something different to eat. Always keep a cobia jig and a pompano jig ready out there. You might have a curious cobia pop up, or someone hooks a pompano and that means there is a school working. A good goofy jig with a small feather, or a custom pompano jig can get another hook up. Generally the heavier goofy jig works better in the current.
*BRAND NEW* Ghost Shrimp FishBites
Get 'em while they're hot! We now have Ghost Shrimp FishBites to pair with your bait.
In May they handed out samples to try that were actually early batches. Reports were excellent. They tweaked and improved a few things and now you absolutely should be using some on your next fishing trip to the beach.
Surf Fishing
It is definitely go time. There are schools of pompano working the beaches out over the bar and closer in as well.
There are redfish and black drum being caught as well. The black drum seem to be mostly the really big ones. Sandfleas and a tip of a FishBites are usually a great choice. Spring usually requires you to have chartreuse shrimp, EZ flea, clam, and ghost shrimp. Later the electric chicken works well too. Always have some shrimp to try vs the sandfleas. Make sure you peel them to release more scent. Make sure you thread it on the hook, so it won’t fall off. Some of the best catches have been on live or brined ghost shrimp. We have the ghost shrimp pumps and the Bionic Brine to facilitate you getting in on that killer bait!
One trick if it is slow is to put on a small piece of shrimp, and sandflea and a piece of Fishbites. This sometimes puts enough smell out there to trigger a bite that might pass otherwise. A smorgasbord can turn on a slow bite and make the trip a success!
Not much to report on the whiting. That should change soon. There should be some good numbers and some good-sized ones soon.
If you want a redfish, or a big black drum put out a butterflied finger mullet, or some squid. A carolina rig works best for this generally. Redfish are generally less shy to bite in the shallows near sunset or after dark.
Fish-N-Mate Rake and Spike Carrier
This easy to attach accessory will make your next trip to the beach a whole lot easier! This Rake and Spike holder fits 4 Fish-N-Mate Sand Spikes and a Fish-N-Mate Sand Flea Rake.
Pier Fishing
Lots of squid have been consistent after dark. Some are turning those fresh squid into redfish the next day or so.
There are some pompano starting to show up daily. We are on the verge of the big run. There will be a front approaching and that may very well spark a great prefrontal bite. Water temps are running around 67. There are as mentioned redfish being caught and some black drum.
The spanish mackerel should be going off daily since there are reports of tons of rain minnows hanging out. Those are what the spanish gorge on this time of year. Got-cha plugs and bubble rigs are the way to go generally. Make sure and use a short piece of 40 lb mono or fluorocarbon leader to prevent bite offs. Do not use wire! Wire comes into play with king mackerel and sharks, not spanish.
Bottom Fishing
The bite has been great. Lots of big fish out there. On the actual keeper side there are the vermillion snapper cooperating and some good thick ones at that! On captain reported a great trip and he also caught a 24” triggerfish. He also got some nice scamp as well. There have been some red groupers. There are lots of red snapper and gag grouper of good size in not too deep of water! Basically, the fishery is waking up.
Keep a cobia jig or a pitch rod and be ready if a cobia pops up. It will soon happen to someone that is prepared. So be prepared! Maybe it will be you! If so send us some pictures!
Nearshore Trolling
The bay and the pass are the spots and just outside the pass near the bars. If there are schools of rain minnows kissing the surface early in the morning, they might have schools of spanish on them. Especially if it is not too rough.
The best trolling rigs will be generally a 2oz lead on one rig and a 4oz to 6oz lead. Both will be followed by an 8ft to 10ft piece of 40 lb mono of fluorocarbon, no wire. After that your lure. Some use the Christmas tree rigs and others like the clarkspoons with the red bead. Keep heavy rig close and the light rig long. This will prevent tangles when turning. Between 5-6mph is usually good. Most boats that is somewhere close to 1700-1800 rpms.
Offshore
The seas are finally down so we are waiting for the reports. There should be some great catches. Last week kind of shut things down. We do have some weather over the weekend, but those that can go out next week should find decent fishing.
