Start of the season has been slow for us trophy trolling between TPL and BPL. We have been fortunate to not have been bit by the skunk bug and caught fish the first three days we have fished. However, it certainly has been tough. We only caught 3 on opening day with one being a 39.5" keeper. Monday morning didnt get much better but we hit two over 40" and had two other releases just under 30". Today was a very short trip for a gentleman who has become a regular but wanted to squeeze a short trip with his niece and nephew before they headed back home overseas and we managed one 39"er with a late start and early return so I could get to a meeting at my real job. There is a TON of bait in the area. We snagged five menhaden yesterday and 3 today in our shorter trip (make a huge mess of my leaders). Jellyfish havent been a terrible nuisance but there are fields of debris that can foul the whole spread quickly. Reports from my network of friends have been about the same with a lot of skunks reported. I have heard of a few good bites in the mouth of rivers and getting better further south.
Despite the slow start I think things are about to break loose. First there are reports of ton of fish in the rivers spawning right now and we are coming off the heals of a full moon with little cloud cover so the fish that are in the bay are able to feed around the clock. Water temperatures are rising quickly and soon we will have fish both coming and going filling in the bite. Plus we will have the new moon later this week giving only light during the day. There is always a tough period during the trophy season. Most often it seems to rear its head the second week of the season or so but this year seems to be the first. Best wishes on the trophy season.
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