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Tampa Bay - South Shore
Capt. Fred Everson
October 16, 2007
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fall fishing on the Southshore is beginning to heat up as the water temperature begins to decline. Snook are already starting to pile into the Little Manatee River, and will continue their trek upriver as the days grow shorter. I’m seeing a lot of little fish under the docks at the mouth of the river, and they are willing. I hooked four fish in half and hour just tossing a jig around the pilings, and also saw some very big sheepshead. I have put live shrimp right under their noses and thus far I’ve only caught a single small sheepshead.
Capt. Larry Malinoski said the grouper bite in the middle of the bay has been up and down. He told me he brought 12 keepers to the boat one day -- two days later he didn’t catch any. He said the mackerel bite was good, and that he was finding them underneath the big schools of ladyfish.
I have been catching Spanish mackerel and ladyfish on my seven-weight fly rod, and having a great time with them in the early morning before the wind gets up. I just look for diving birds, get upwind and drift back on them. I keep some of the ladyfish on ice and use them later in the day for redfish bait.
I don’t know what to make of the fall run of redfish this year. The big schools of fish are not where I’ve found them in years past. I fished Little Cockroach Bay and the flats south of Apollo Beach last week and never caught a single red. Nor did I see any. The catfish bite was hot, much to my detriment. As I tried to shake a fish off the hook with my dehooker, the catfish bounced off the side of the boat and landed dorsal fin first on my foot. It got me right between the toes. If you have never been spined by a catfish, I strongly recommend you avoid it. It felt like somebody jabbed me between the toes with a red-hot needle.
Fortunately I had some meat tenderizer on board. I carry the stuff because I wade a lot, and it is supposed to alleviate the pain of a stingray hit, and I have also been there before. I’m happy to report that meat tenderizer also works on wounds inflicted by catfish spines. It doesn’t make the pain go away, but makes it bearable. Hot water is the antidote for both wounds, as the toxic venom is protein based and can be neutralized by 105-degree heat. My vast personal experience indicates that hotter is better. Soak the wound in water as hot as you can stand it and your suffering is minimized.
The following day, my foot swelled up and became very tender. My grandmother’s remedy for fighting infection was a soak in warm water laced with Epsom salts and vinegar. I gave the foot two such treatments the next day and I’m happy to report the old remedy still works. For good measure, I also updated my tetanus shot.
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