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Tampa Bay - South Shore
Capt. Fred Everson
December 11, 2003
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Southshore Tampa Bay Fishing Report
This is one of the few times of the year when I dread calls for charter booking. The next two months are unpredictable at best, and miserable at worst. The problem is that northerners expect good fishing when the air temperature is above 45 and it’s not snowing. Indeed, Northern Vermont, and all the states that border the Great Lakes have some good fishing, even when the lakes are covered with three feet of ice. But their fish are used to that. Here we sit on the northernmost border of the tropics, and 45 degrees is not what Tampa Bay’s finned natives are accustomed to.
If the water temperature in the bay drops gradually a couple of things happen that exacerbate the problem – namely that cobia and baitfish migrate south. When that occurs, pickings become pretty lean. Trout are out of season until New Year’s Day on Tampa Bay, snook season is closed, redfish are hard to find and hard to catch, and pilchards are often a dream that won’t come true until Valentine’s Day.
The solution this month and next is to go with what will bite. Surprisingly, we have a pretty good winter shark fishery. It must be a fairly well kept secret too, because a local magazine editor once nearly rejected a piece on shark fishing I submitted in December because he thought that they were purely summer targets. Pretty bizarre considering the number of sharks that Southshore Tampa bay holds during the winter months. These fish are not the jaws variety insofar as size is concerned, but blacktip sharks in particular are pretty good fighters. They jump and take drag, and require careful handling. Mostly we have blacktips and bonnetheads, and both are good fighters on light tackle.
Sheepshead are another December – January option, but they are a lot harder to catch than sharks. Still, these striped fish are game fighters, and great on the table.
Redfish will also stay on the flats until it gets unbearably cold, but they are a bear to catch in clear shallow water.
In summary there is still some good fishing to be had in Florida in the dead of winter. But you have to pick your days and go with the flow.
The First Annual Pearl Harbor Day Jack Attack was a well-attended success. 31 anglers picked up their Zebco 404’s and ventured out into the bay in search of these voracious predators, but at the end of the day the pickin’s were slim. Only three fish caught, and the biggest would have made a good snook bait. Jasaan Arruda of Ruskin caught the hand sized winning fish. Other anglers saw plenty of big jacks, but the cold front that passed through a few days prior to the tournament made the fish scarce and the bite non-existent. We will probably try another tournament with a slightly different format in February.
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