April Begins Much Like March
Capt. Fred Everson
April 7, 2008
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
I am hearing reports of Spanish mackerel from all points on the bay this week. Capt. Danny Guarino said he got cut off several times by mackerel inside Bishop Harbor, and I caught some small fish on the Bahia Beach Reef.
Wind was up for most of the week and the fishing was slow. I went all the way to the Skyway to get bait on Thursday and never found any. Capt. Danny Guarino told me it finally showed up later in the morning.
I also checked the flats north of Piney Point and didn't find anything there. The wind picked up pretty good and we called it a day without catching a fish.
On Friday the wind was howling again, this time out of the East so we stayed in the Little Manatee River tossing jigs. Some jacks rampaged under the docks the day before and we were looking for them. My buddy Rich Barber from Middletown, N.J. got cut off by a Spanish mackerel at Devil's Elbow – unusual to find them this far upriver – but we never did find the jacks.
Mike Quinn of Richmond, Virginia caught a couple of ladyfish on a RipTide plastic mullet, and that was the bite for the day. The wind never let up.
There are some mackerel in the bay, but there has been nothing like a blitz as yet. The few Spanish we've caught have been hugging the bottom, eating live shrimp. I did not get any redfish reports this week. I searched for them two days but saw only a couple. I fished the mangrove backcountry of Little Cockroach Bay with cut bait one day and didn't even catch a catfish.
You can visit the captain's website at Tampabayfishingguide.com for charter info, or phone him at 813 830 8890.
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