It's hard to complain too much about catching big fish, but the fish have been too big to keep lately! We're catching lots of huge trout in the shallow water, but having a tough time getting the shorter fish to finish out a limit. This has a lot to do with the reproductive cycle of speckled trout, and should change soon.
Currently the big female trout are in the shallow water getting ready to spawn. Once they do, they'll move back to the deeper water and things should even out a bit. It's fun to catch big trout in the shallow water, but we've been having to go deeper to get a limit of keeper trout.
The water clarity has also made fishing tough lately. When the water is too clear like it has been, the fish can see everything and are easily spooked. Hopefully some rain this weekend will get the water darker and make it easier to get close to the fish.
Now that the baitfish have moved back onto the flats, pinfish are working well. We've also had success with topwater baits in areas where the floating grass isn't too heavy. Soft plastics are getting good bites as well.
The redfish are still tight along the shoreline. This has a lot to do with the bait fish moving in closer as the grass starts to grow more. Anchor within casting distance of the shoreline and you should be able to get some nice reds.
Besides the trout and reds, Cobia are being caught in some the deeper holes a little offshore. If you can find a good 15-20' hole, there's a good chance you might catch one. Spanish are also running thick near the 9 mile sandbar. Troll with spoons and you should easily catch a limit of those. The Spanish will get closer as the water warms and the baitfish move to more shallow water.
This fishing report is brought to you by Captain Jason Witherspoon of Spoon Fed Charters in Keaton Beach, Florida.