Upper slot red drum

Article by: Mark Mayo

Upper slot red drum: We’re doing well and we have been catching everything from upper slot red drum, many 3 pound speckled trout, gray trout, tautog, black drum, bluefish, and sharks just to name a few. The weather has been fantastic and the fishing has been great right along with it. Inshore: The water temps have been ranging from 60 in the ICW to 66 degrees on the flats back in the bay. The red drum seem to be out of their winter pattern and are feeding heavily with the warmer water. Dead low tide on warm sunny days provides the best results. We are catching them with Gulp shrimp and jerk baits. There are many new reds coming in fresh off the ocean with sea lice attached to them and they are foraging around for food. These guys are aggressive and willing to take a hook! Dock fishing in the ICW has offered up some nice slot size redfish as well as some very nice speckled trout. These trout are large which tells me lots of them weathered the winter and we should have a banner year with the trout. Off shore: The water is in the 60 to 62 degree range from the beach out to 12 miles. We are starting to get some nice bluefish and gray tout on the near shore wrecks along with some nice tautog and black drum which are both great eating. I have seen numerous boils on the surface (in the 7 mile range) but they have been scattered out to much to find out what it is. It is either Bonito or False Albacore but again they have been too scattered to get a hook in one. Lots of birds are also working the bait. Speaking of bait, the wrecks are loaded with baitfish. As soon as the water temp rises the Spanish and kings will be in to snack on them. I can’t wait! As you can tell the fishing has been great, this time of year you just have to target what is biting and as long as the rod is bent I am happy! 

Let’s go fishing!

Capt. Matt Wirt Reel Adventure Charters 
www.reel-adventure.com

Mark Mayo

I research and talk about fishing, fishing gear/equipment, survival topics, and marketing for outdoors related businesses. I also assist here on CB Fishing as the editor-in-chief. Articles may contain AI researched content. All content is published for education and entertainment purposes only, NOT LIFE, HEALTH, SURVIVAL, FINANCIAL, BUSINESS, LEGAL OR ANY OTHER ADVICE. Learn more about Mark Mayo