Inshore Fishing

Spring

Action: Snook, redfish, and trout light up grass flats and mangroves; sheepshead strong around docks; early tarpon show in passes by late May.

Slow: Windy days push fish deeper into creeks and channels.

Tips: Pilchards/pinfish for snook, soft plastics for trout, shrimp for sheepshead, crabs for the first rolling tarpon.

Action: Peak tarpon in Boca Grande/Redfish Pass; snook stack in passes and along beach troughs; mangrove snapper thick on structure.

Slow: Midday heat dampens shallow-flat bites.

Tips: Live crabs/threadfins for tarpon; pilchards for snook; shrimp for snapper; fish dawn and dusk for best action.

Action: Redfish schools on flats/points; snook feed hard pre-winter; trout reliable on potholes; flounder show in passes late fall.

Slow: Tarpon thin quickly after early fall.

Tips: Topwaters and cut bait for reds, live baitfish for snook, soft plastics for trout, jigs for flounder.

Action: Sheepshead/black drum on docks and pilings; trout hold deeper; reds bite during warming trends.

Slow: Snook sluggish on strong cold snaps.

Tips: Fiddler crabs for sheepshead, shrimp/cut crab for drum, soft plastics or live shrimp for trout and reds.