Text & Photos by Patrick “Tupat” Eichstaedt // @TheRealTupat
A guide to fishing in Coastal Volusia County in March
As we move into the spring season, the fishing will keep getting better. The weather patterns this past month have been very up and down, making it hard for a consistent bite. There were a few days that fish were everywhere but nothing wanted to eat. On the flip side of the coin, there were days we saw nothing, but hooked up big in the holes.
What Bait to Use
Utilizing a mud guppy was my choice of bait for the redfish I caught (pictured above). This was a classic catch as I called this before I even caught the fish. I told my buddies @CaseyColli and Tyler Chestney that I was gonna get tight on a solid slot redfish. The proof is in the picture! The trout bite continues to be hot as @GJSaltwaterFisher had some solid luck in the shallow back creeks with this nice catch (pictured below). His choice of bait was a smaller sized mullet and hooking the bait in the top anal fin. This allows the mullet to stay on the top of the water where the larger trout like to topwater hit their prey.
Local Mike Schaler, owner of Off the Hook NSB and Inlet Harbor, went offshore this past month and absolutely slayed the wahoo. Here is what Mike has to say about his session (pictured below)!
What’s Happening Offshore
“We pretty much caught all of these fish heading back and forth over a five-mile patch of live bottom that we found between Palm Coast and Ormond Beach. Tons of bait fish on it and the wahoo were there and chewing. High speed trolling was working so we just did that all day. Pulling the usual suspects as far as lures go – Black Barts, big iLanders, etc. It was a beautiful day on the water made even nicer by the sound of our 80s getting crushed every 20 minutes or so.”
Moving into March, look for more redfish bites and larger snook to start feeding more. The water clarity will be determined by the weather, so let’s hope it doesn’t get too hot before we get closer to summer.
BEST DAYS TO FISH IN MARCH: 3 – 9, 13 – 15, 20 – 22, 26 – 27
Until next month… Cast ‘em, Hook ‘em and Catch ‘em!
