Pine Island Trout Bite Was Steady on the Grass Flats

We stayed around the northern end of Pine Island Sound for this trip and had one of the more consistent trout bites I've seen over the last couple of weeks.

Nothing complicated about this one.

We started on a grass flat near Bokeelia in about 4 feet of water with a light breeze pushing us along. There were small baitfish scattered across the flat, and we started getting bites almost immediately.

The trout weren't huge, but there were plenty of them.

For the first hour and a half, we probably caught 20 fish. Most were smaller trout, with several better fish mixed in. Our biggest was right around 22 inches and put up a great fight on light tackle.

Both live shrimp and small paddletails worked, although the artificial bite was good enough that we eventually stopped messing with live bait.

As the sun got higher, the trout bite slowed and we moved toward the mangroves looking for redfish.

That part of the plan wasn't nearly as productive.

We saw several reds pushing along the shoreline but had trouble getting them to eat. We finally caught one nice fish on a live shrimp underneath a cork and missed another before moving on.

We finished the morning by drifting another grass flat and picked up several more trout.

It wasn't a trophy redfish day, but if you're looking for steady action, the grass flats around Pine Island have been a good bet.

What's Working

• 3-inch paddletails
• Live shrimp under popping corks
• Grass in 3–5 feet of water
• Slow drifts with a little wind
• Early morning before the water heats up

Captain's Take: Don't drive past good grass looking for something more exciting. When the trout are spread across a flat, you can have steady action for a couple of hours without moving the boat very far.