Ponce Inlet Fishing Report by Capt. Billy Rotne

Last week gave us our first taste of summer temperatures and a chance to explore some of the fishing patterns that are to come in the next few months. Warmer temperatures and calmer winds are a sign that we are leaving the transitional period of late spring and into our summer. This period of the year brings some of my favorite fishing for species like tarpon, I’m really excited that it’s finally starting.

Nearshore fishing off Ponce Inlet is a part of our daily excursions on most days of the week, and with species like big tarpon and light tackle false albacore tuna, it doesn’t get much better. As bait and other attractors of these powerful fish arrive, catching them will be our top priority.

Inshore fishing inside Ponce Inlet will also be a part of most of our trips for the summer season. Big snook and bull reds are high on the list of to-dos and as activity peaks for these fish, we will surely have some great days. Recently we have begun to enjoy just how much more active the warmer temperatures are making the snook in particular.

To the south of Ponce Inlet in Mosquito Lagoon, shorelines are attracting redfish and snook hunting for a bite to eat and giving up opportunities with both fly and light spin tackle. Sea trout also start to get active this time of year as they enter their spawning season. The water clarity remains good for sight fishing and these trips to the isolated back country can be truly unique.