Chilly Water Tampa Bay
Capt. Steven Markovich
January 15, 2011
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Saturday started as a scouting trip to the Little Manatee River but that all changed at O'Neill's Marina. Captain Mark Thomas had a charter and when his group arrived with a party of 7 he needed a second boat. Captain Steven was the lucky recipient of a last second charter.
I quickly purchased more shrimp and off we went….actually not as my motor was dead. 30 minutes and lots of help later the problem was discovered a simple 20 amp fuse on my Yamaha 4 stoke blew.
After that grand start next I was shocked to see the water temperature had fallen to 51.8 degrees. That said I headed to my cold water spots, canals with dark muddy bottoms. The first 30 minutes were a bust as was the second stop.
Finally on stop number 3 the action started. Sheepshead finally started chewing but it was still slow action.
The sheepshead were not tight to the pilings rather in the deeper channel. My 3 anglers did their part with quality casting and presentations. Captain Steven just stunk up the place Saturday.
I dropped off my anglers at lunch time and headed in leaving the Little Manatee scouting trip for another day. Captain Steven stopped on a 4' grass flats adjacent to Indian key and promptly found the trout action. I was sick as my anglers would have loved this action. I quickly changed from live shrimp to tossing soft jerk baits on jig heads and things really heated up.
I left the trout chewing and called it a day.
Captain Steven Markovich
www.onthemarkcharters.com
Tampa Bay Fishing Forecast:
10 day forecast is for mild days in the 60's and lows in the mid 55's. Tampa Bay's shallow waters will warm quickly. With the warming trend look for action to perk up.
Target Species:
Trout Sheepshead Flounder
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