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Tampa Bay - South Shore
Capt. Fred Everson
December 19, 2005
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Cloud cover, high winds and cold fronts dominated local fishing this week. That kept some anglers off the water, but those determined to fish find ways to get around the conditions. Backcountry sheepshead are a prime target of the season and there are several good spots on Tampa Bay’s Southshore where anglers can get at them in all but the roughest water.
The Little Manatee River has several good sheepshead holes. Devil’s Elbow, the pilings and oyster bars around the old fish house, the railroad trestle, and the 41 Bridge are the best producers of the striped bait thieves.
Capt. Chet Jennings turns his attention to ducks in late fall and winter. He and his clients shot an assortment of puddle ducks in the mangrove backcountry early Friday morning then caught a nice mess of sheepshead later.
Best baits for sheepshead are small live shrimp, pieces of fresh shrimp, spider crabs, or soldier crabs. Put the bait on the bottom with just enough weight to keep it down. Chum with small pieces of frozen shrimp or crush some green mussels to put sheepshead in the mood. Mussels are easily found all over the sand bar outside of Sand Key. The mussels can also be used for bait, but they do not stay on the hook well.
Capt. Larry Malinoski of Ruskin says the grouper bite in the bay was reliable last week, even though his outings were cut short by sudden changes for the worse in weather. He’s trolling deep running plugs and red and white bucktail jigs on number two planers on the edge of the shipping channels between Bahia Beach and Port Manatee.
There are still some redfish on the flats in front of Simmons Park, but they have been very difficult to get at because of extreme low tides, cloud cover, and breezy conditions.
Visit Capt. Fred online at www.tampabayfishingguide.com or call Shell Point
Bait and Tackle at (813) 641- 3662
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