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Tampa Bay - South Shore
Capt. Fred Everson
September 17, 2003
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Shell Point Bait and Tackle Fishing Report 09/17
Shell Point Bait and Tackle Fishing Report
The redfish bite continues to be hot, and snook fishing is starting to pick up.
Capt. Nick Winger of Apollo Beach said he and his clients caught all the redfish they could handle yesterday after a slow start. Throughout the morning there wasn’t much happening, and some of the local guides even quit early. Winger said the fish finally rolled in with the tide about 1:00 o’clock in the afternoon. Capt. Bryan Watts put in this morning and said he saw plenty of fish to cast to, but that the bite was slow. He had two keepers on artificials, and bemoaned the fact that he didn’t bring any plastic crabs with him.
Capt. Billy Nobles of Ruskin reported good fishing for snook on an evening trip to Apollo Beach last week. Capt. Chet Jennings of Balm also reported some success with snook last week, but it seems the bite has yet to heat up to fall expectations. We will doubtless have some wind effect from Hurricane Isabelle in the Atlantic. Strong winds out of the Northeast today will keep most boaters close to port.
I had a nice time at the Florida Sportsman Show last weekend where I did seminars on wade fishing with artificials. Also saw lots of good deals and few new products that are worth mentioning. One that I used right away was a trailer alignment guide from Sea South. It consists of two plastic wands with fluorescent orange tips. The wands are fixed to a magnetic block. You sit one of the wands behind your trailer hitch ball, and the other on the trailer. When you back up to the trailer, simply line up the two wands. It eliminates having to get in and out of the truck, or even worse, having someone trying to guide you onto the trailer who has no clue. Capt. Bill Rentz of Tampa (813 245 1576) is marketing the device.
Aside from the large schools of redfish, the best news on the Southshore flats is that the bay is inundated with bait, and much of it is perfect size. I am still throwing a quarter inch mesh to minimize gilling, and since the pilchards have been in shallow water it does a nice job. I think the smaller mesh is easier on the baits – I have been able to keep them alive for days in the tank at the shop, where they most often perish overnight.
The shrimp supply has also been pretty good, with regulars making up the bulk of the order. We are starting to see some selects and quite a few larges, but they generally sell out very early in the day.
Pinfish have been harder to come by of late but that’s unusual for this time of year and I expect it’s only temporary.
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