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Tampa Bay - South Shore
Capt. Fred Everson
February 27, 2003
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Southshore Tampa Bay Fishing Report for February 27
Cold fronts, wind and rain continue to dampen late winter fishing prospects, but the good news is that the end is in sight. Every time the sun came out in the past two weeks, the bite turned hot.
Anglers launching out of Shell Point Bait and Tackle are catching mangrove snapper, redfish, snook and trout inshore, and those trolling the shipping channels are catching a few grouper.
The bait around Bahia Beach has been plentiful at times, but tough to find after the fronts have passed through. Capt. Marc Noe reported a sparse catch at the South Skyway pier after the rains last week. He said he caught some bluefish and trout around the flats of the South Skyway fishing pier on artificials.
Capt. Chet Jennings guided Scott Friddell of Atlanta, Georgia to an inshore slam that featured a 33-½ inch snook. He said he was able to catch bait around the mouth of the Little Manatee River, but that it took a long time.
I had clients out yesterday and we had a couple of shots at big cobia around the power plant in Apollo Beach. I gave up early on trying to catch pilchards. After six or seven throws of the net, I had six pilchards, two pinfish, and two hardhead catfish – one of which spined me in the palm of the hand. I just had all the holes in my net professionally repaired by Milton Clark on Shell Point Road in Ruskin, which always seems to lure the catfish in.
I couldn’t find pilchards anywhere, so I netted a few dozed chubs. With those we hooked a couple of ladyfish, a couple of catfish, and one snook. I decided to look at my favorite flat for redfish, and found a few pods scattered in the potholes. What caught me by surprise was a good-sized pod of snook, and that caused me to put the Power Pole down and put out some baits. We hooked and landed three redfish in about 45 minutes time, and missed another fish. Many anglers turn their noses up at chubs, but they are easy to catch, hardier than pilchards, and they will catch most fish that pilchards do. You just can’t chum with them.
Fishing for the next couple of weeks should get nothing but better. Seeing those snook on the flats tells me that the prime time for wading is already here. Cold weather is not apt to hinder activity as much as wind from now on, and that’s a good thing.
Plenty of stuff to look forward to in the coming weeks. Mackerel should find their way into the bay along with threadfin herring and tarpon. Cobia should reappear on the flats, and so should some whitebait. Redfish and snook are already there, and all that’s wanted to set things off is a few more degrees of water temperature.
Capt. Chet Jennings and I will be onstage at the Frank Sargeant Show tomorrow at five pm, talking about fishing the Southshore of Tampa Bay. We will also be hosting another Southshore Flats Fishing School on March 15 at the USF hatchery in Ruskin. Call the bait shop for information and directions (813) 641-3662.
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