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Tampa Bay - South Shore
Capt. Fred Everson
January 22, 2005
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Low early morning temperatures and high winds have kept most anglers off the water for the past week. Toward the middle of this past week when conditions moderated, Capt. Danny Guarino had a successful trip on Wednesday, putting more than a dozen good-sized sheepshead on the boat. However, when the temperature suddenly dropped late in the afternoon, the bite shut down.
There are still plenty of redfish on the flats, and many of those fish are slot sized. These fish have been more susceptible to high pressure and the recent drop in water temperature, so finding the fish has been much easier than catching them. The small successes I’ve had in recent weeks came after noon on days when the sun was out and the water temperature rose a few degrees. Catching fish on low tides in late morning has been nearly impossible. Even live select shrimp weren’t productive. In fact, all of the fish we’ve caught came on artificials. DOA shrimp and RipTide jig heads with dark colored tails actually outperformed live shrimp. I suspect the reason is that the artificials cast farther and get to the bottom where the fish are feeding.
Terry Akroyd cleaned a nice mess of trout at the shop this morning that he caught yesterday afternoon. He said the bite was good, and that he also caught four snook and some short redfish. Snook remain a catch and release prospect until February 01, and unless the water temperature rises between now and then, it won’t be much to shout about.
In fact, the prospects for the coming week are pretty grim. With water temperature already below 60 degrees, a near freeze is forecast for tomorrow morning, accompanied by a strong blast of cold air. This could spell trouble for snook, which are probably already stressed by last week’s frosty temperatures.
I will be giving a cast-netting seminar at Shell Point Bait and Tackle on Sunday February 06 at 2:00 PM. I will cover net selection, care, throwing techniques, and bait cycles. Call the shop for more information or visit my website at tampabayfishingguide.com.
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