After some good rainfall the last couple weeks, the inshore water has a "stained" color again and is prime for fishing. Trout spook really easily in clear water, but you can get much closer to them when the water has that tea color to it. Cloudy days also help. When the sun is bright, fish can see you much better. But a good cloud cover will allow you to get close and get bites.
The trout bite was a little slow last weekend, which can likely be blamed on the lack of wind and water movement. When the wind dies in the middle of the day, the fishing can be tough. But mornings and afternoons are usually windy enough to get the water moving. Although the trout bite was slow, the reds were hot last weekend and we got on them pretty good.
The big female trout are in the process of spawning in the shallow water and moving back to the deeper water. We're catching most of our trout in 4-5' of water. After spawning, the fish are seeking the deeper, cooler water. This can vary a bit though depending on how much rain we've had. If we get a bunch of rain, which cools the shallow water, the fish will move closer to the shoreline again.
Pinfish is the bait of choice this time of year. If you can take the time to catch a live well full of pinfish, you'll usually be rewarded. The smaller pinfish are preferred, but we'll use what we can catch. Use a popping cork and leader to keep the bait in the zone and also draw some attention to it.
Topwater plug action has been tough due to so much floating grass. Occasionally, depending on the wind, we'll find a spot where there's not much floating grass. If this happens, it doesn't hurt to throw a few topwater plugs in the morning.
This fishing report is brought to you by Captain Jason Witherspoon of Spoon Fed Charters in Keaton Beach, Florida.