Weather provides opportunities to try things out

Like the rest of the world in 2020, there has been nothing normal about our late May weather. Any old timers will tell you March and April are windy, but by mid-May the summer pattern of SW to SE sea breezes should be in full effect. Apparently not this year. Days on days of wind with only a short break have left the ocean confused and sent the bait packing. Hopefully they will show up by the time you read this but for about 10 days now the pogies have been completely gone from Matanzas north to the state line.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go fishing but I wouldn’t include pogies as part of your plan. For those looking to get offshore the weather might give us a window this weekend, bring cigar minnows or squid and you’ll be fine without pogies. We catch just as many kings on cigars as pogies each year, straighten them out, break the back, and use a light weight in the chin if needed to keep them from spinning as you troll. A duster skirt works very well with cigars and can also let you troll a little faster than if using pogies.
The surf fishing has continued to be consistent for Pompano but as the water warms up expect to see less and less of them. Now is still a good time to go, break out the sand flea rake and catch them up!
Inshore the founder bite continues to improve. The peak time for catching big trout is in the rear view but it’s a great time to hit the docks and bridges at night for trout and reds while keeping an eye out for early season Tarpon.
For any questions, to book a charter trip or to send in a report and pictures of your catch to be featured in a future report, send an email to Chris@fishjax.org.