redfish in the surf … trout and striped bass in the vicinity

Today I wandered around the bays and checked out the beaches and inlets.  There are fish here of all species it would seem, and some may be a tad early.  The netters according to Rick’s Bait & Tackle have been catching weakfish and striped bass, as by catch.   Large fish in keeper sizes, and in decent numbers.  The striped bass are moving, schooling up, and chasing food.  I have been watching osprey pick the back bays, and surf  the last few days for fish.  Every time one flies over the truck while traveling it is holding a fish.  If these are from the back bay areas, it could be a fresh or saltwater fish, but today we have even better evidence of the latter.  Mac Davis was in DSSP this afternoon, and took pictures of an osprey feeding the surf.  The first picture made it hard to identify, not the bird but the fish, since it was missing its head and we only had a bottom view of the fish.  After looking through the multitude of shots he took, Mac Davis found a killer picture of the osprey flying off with its prey.  You can see the tag on the osprey’s talon, and to boot, you can identify the fish.  We posted the original picture of the osprey dining on the early bird special on a pole, and asked readers on Facebook if they could ID the fish.  Responses were; trout, bunker, porgie, or a dead fish.  Then Mac Davis posted the shot we have up now, and you can clearly see on the tail that this fish has to be a redfish or puppy drum.  We have reds in the surf.  There are reports of weakfish or trout, and striped bass being caught by the netters.  Spring hath sprung, have a good weekend and send us your pictures and adventures.

Fish On!!

Rich King