Inshore fishing on the Big Bend can be tough this time of year for trout and redfish. Until we have the steady flow of afternoon storms that come a little later in summer, expect to work for your fish.

If there is an overcast day with a good breeze, fish in the large bays like Waccasassa Bay, Crystal River Bay, and Chassahowitzka Bay. Use a popping cork with a 30 ” leader tied to a 1/8 oz. jig head. When it comes to the color of the soft plastic I’ve had the best luck with watermelon red flake, new penny, glow, golden bream, and electric chicken. The best depths to fish in are 3- to 5-feet. Always cast downwind and ahead of the drift. 

The other way to catch trout and other fish is to move out to the nearshore if the weather is permitting. A mentor of mine in my early days of guiding told me, “during the summer, catch trout run out of the Homosassa channel and head out past marker #2 until it looks like a matchstick on the water.”

The 10-foot depth has thick turtle grass that trout will lay in to wait for shrimp or baitfish to swim past. One method that works is to cast behind the drift of the vessel and let the soft plastic on a 1/8 oz jig head drag behind. It’s not easy fishing but will produce.

High incoming tide this weekend will be in the morning. 

Homosassa Weekly Fishing Report from Captain William Toney

To schedule a fishing charter or shore lunch excursion with Captain Toney, visit his website.

If you want to learn more about how to catch Nature Coast fish from Captain Toney, subscribe to his videos at https://inthespread.com