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Tampa Bay - South Shore
Capt. Fred Everson
April 2, 2004
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Southshore Tampa Bay Fishing Report
I thought I would be glad to see the end of March until April got here. What’s up with this cold and wind? It hasn’t exactly shut the fishing down, but it hasn’t helped. My last two trips we caught a few snook and a cobia, despite the wind. The cobia was alone on the flats, cruising the edge of a rock pile in the middle of a sand flat. It took two or three casts to finally get his attention, but it finally hit a lipped Bomber. After a prolonged struggle the fish came to the net at last. We didn’t use a gaff because I thought the fish might be short, and it turns out that it was –31 inches to the fork, and they have to be 33. Personally, I don’t rate cobia as a good fish to eat. The only way I have ever had it prepared where it tasted good to me was smoked.
I have been seeing quite a few redfish lately, but they haven’t been eating pilchards or pinfish. Next time out I’m going to bring some shrimp. I think reds get single minded sometimes, and when they are eating shellfish, I try to give ‘em what they want. If I can see the fish over sand, I will throw a two-inch RipTide Crab at them, or a plastic shrimp. I have also seen redfish inhale a spoon after ignoring live baits. Go figure.
I ran across a pod of big jacks on a local flat last week, but couldn’t get them to eat. I even pitched a large sardine into their midst. The baitfish died of fright, but he was molested otherwise. Then I threw a plug, then a jig and finally a large metal spoon, none of which attracted a strike. Pretty rare occasion when you can throw anything into a school of jacks and not have them attack.
I was fishing in front of one of the passes at Cockroach Bay on Tuesday about eighty yards out, and there was another boat fishing in the pass. I watched in wonder as a navy blue poling skiff ran the shoreline heading north. He passed between me and the other boat in the pass, on plane, just about running over my floats. I have seen plenty of rude behavior, but this tops the list.
Easy to catch baitfish disappeared behind the wind and cold that accompanied the last front. For a while, I was catching all the bait I could use with two throws of the net, five minutes from the shop, but alas, it’s gone. The guides have all been running straight to the skyway, which is always an adventure. The few baits I did catch locally were bigger than what I like to fish with. The shrimp supply has been good, with lots of larges in every batch. Trailer parking at the bait shop on the weekends has become a precious commodity, and the inside the fence spots have been filled by 8:30. If the wind lies down like it’s supposed to, I’m sure we will fill up early on Saturday and Sunday.
We have two tournaments coming up at Shell Point Bait and Tackle. The first is the “Catch and Release in A Pot of Hot Grease Mackerel Tournament” scheduled for May 02. There will be a fish fry following the weigh in where we will cook all the fish weighed by contestants. The other tournament is for fly fishermen and will be a catch and release affair for redfish. It’s scheduled for May 22. Rules for Both tournaments will be posted on my website at tampabayfishingguide.com.
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