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Tampa Bay - South Shore
Capt. Fred Everson
May 27, 2004
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Southshore Tampa Bay Fishing Report for May 27, 2004
The wind has finally laid down and the fishing got hot as the weather. We had only six entries for our Fly fishing tournament on Sunday, and only one redfish was caught. I hooked and landed a 28 inch red on a seven weight rod, throwing a white deceiver on a sink tip line. The fish took 20 minutes to land, and if I have ever had a better time playing a fish, I can’t remember it. It’s gonna make it hard to fish with anything else.
Yesterday I fished with Capt. Billy Jordan and we ran the marks looking for cobia. There are plenty of cobia in the bay, and I have even been seeing a few behind the bait shop. We found three fish on the second buoy we checked, but I was over eager to put a fly in front of them and spooked them. Then while blind casting a RipTide jig head tipped with a plastic eel to a range marker, I hooked up with a big fish. I thought I had a mack daddy cobia, but 20 minutes later a 15 pound jack finally came to the surface. Later on we moved onto the flats and found another cobia cruising the grass line. We made about 30 casts at it, but the big fish would have none of it. We also came across a tarpon laid up on a deep water flat on our way home, but didn’t get a shot at it.
Capt. Chet Jennings is reporting good action on tarpon early in the morning before the wind picks up. Capt. Nick Winger said the redfish have been hitting south of Port Manatee, and he is also hooking a few tarpon.
Spanish mackerel are all over the bay, and so are some big sharks. We hooked two big blacktips last Saturday while mackerel fishing. Both fish cut off, but only after a couple of long runs and a couple of jumps.
There is plenty of bait around the bay right now. We saw large schools of threadfin herring everywhere, and where ever they go, predators are sure to follow. I even had a report of a big barracuda hooked inside the Skyway yesterday. Pilchards are on the flats spawning, and netting bait has been relatively easy the past few days. That will probably come to a halt soon, after they are done spawning and move off the flats back to deeper water.
Shrimp supply has been excellent of late – mostly good sized mediums and quite a few large. Enjoy it while it lasts, because as the water temperature rises, the average size of shrimp begins to decline.
Best bets for the coming week will be Spanish mackerel, cobia, and tarpon as long as the wind remains light.
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