According to our calendar the spring season doesn`t actually start until the 20th of March. The fish out on the `flats` around Cedar Key have their own calendar. Thursday March 1st I took the Ward family from Brooksville, Fl. out fishing over some grassy bottom in about 4-5ft. of water around North Key. It was my 1st trip from Cedar Key in more than 2 months. The water temps along the coast are very cold during January and February, so I fish up into the Waccasassa river a few miles away. When I turned my fathometer/temperature unit on, I was so glad to see 68 degrees F appear on the monitor.
Water temp means everything in the fishing business. We anchored up about 1 mile northwest of North Key and tossed out fresh shrimp on floats and didn`t have to wait at all for the fish to start slamming our bait. Very soon I received a message from Mother Nature in the form of a mackerel on young Josh`s line. If mackerel are here, then springtime has arrived. We caught many `short`, (under the legal 15inches) speckled trout and 6 very large and fat silver trout. Thats Tammy Ward with the largest silver trout. The silvers were 15 to 16.5 inches. Why the silver trout were so large and the speckled trout were all small, I just don`t know. We threw 5 chunky whiting into the cooler as well.
The Ward group took a big ziplock baggie of fresh fillets home with them after I cleaned their fish back at the dock. It was a great day of fishing and a good welcome back to Cedar Key fishing for me. I`m glad the fish are back feeding around the grassy shallows and oyster bars as the warmer spring waters flow around all these little mangrove keys.
I`m looking forward to the warmer spring season, and fishing out among the islands of Cedar Key. Call me at 352-221-5463 and we`ll set up a trip. thanks, Capt. Dan | 
