TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) -- Spring is a great time to target trout in the bay because you don't have to go far to catch them and they are not overly picky on what they want to eat right now.
8 on Your Side's Amanda Holly took a trip out with local charter captain Ryan Harrington to see what is working best for him this time of year. He said you'll want to start in "three to six feet of water and on salt and pepper bottom" which are patches of grass and sand on the flats. He said the trout will sit on the edges of the grass and sand.
This time of year, Harrington said artificial plastic baits work well. We used a Mirrolure Lil John twitch bait which will out fish live bait this time of year.
"The nice thing about this bait is there is no wrong way to work it, it mimics a shrimp in the water. They flick their tail when they're nervous and they go erratic in every direction," Harrington said.
He describes the motion to use as a "pop, pop, let it drop". The speed of each "pop, pop" depends on the day. If you don't get a bite within four or five casts, switch up your speed.
Harrington also said if you notice the tails getting bit on your baits, you're likely going too slow and pufferfish are getting to it. If you are catching a lot of lady fish, you are probably going too fast.
Tides don't matter too much as long as there is moving water over the flats. It is a fun and tasty fish for the whole family to catch. The trout put up a really fun fight in the springtime and trout over 20 inches are considered gator trout.
In the summertime, they can be a little more sluggish and their meat doesn't firm up as much but Harrington's tip was to make a trout cake.
If you use these tips and catch trout this spring, make sure to send them to Amanda Holly!