Destin, Florida April Fishing Report
Nearshore/Inshore Fishing:
The trolling bite inshore can be very good in April. The kings start showing up in April, and can be caught on live bait or lures. The King Mackerel bite is not always about where you fish for them, but when you fish for them.
Certain days the kings will only bite in the mornings, other days in the afternoons, and on the good days they bite all day. When live bait trolling for kings, you will be trolling at low speeds trying to keep the bait as natural looking as possible.
The best luck is had around schools of bait, and especially around structure with lots of bait around it.
Live bait trolling will also produce the occasional Spanish Mackerel inshore this time of year. The Spanish Mackerel bite during April is also very good. Trolling outside the pass can produce Spanish in large numbers most days, when the dolphins let you get them to the boat. Along with Spanish and kings, Bonito are everywhere, and put up a good fight.
Bottom fishing in April is typically very good. The main two fish targeted bottom fishing are vermillion snapper and triggerfish. Both of these fish are typically caught on two hook rigs with cut squid or bonito. To learn more about bottom rigs go here: best bottom fishing rigs for red snapper fishing.
The Vermillion Snapper tend to bite best on natural bottom, and the Triggerfish will bite almost anywhere. The only trick to finding good triggerfish is getting through the small ones to get to the fifteen plus inchers!
While bottom fishing there are many other fish you can catch as well. It’s almost guaranteed you’ll see some out of season red snapper. If you are looking for a hard fight, you can also target amberjack around most wrecks.
