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Tampa Bay - Saltwater
Capt. Matt Ercoli
November 17, 2001
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
We had a beautiful week for fishing this past one. The weather alone was good enough in itself, and the fishing wasn?t too shabby either. As a matter of fact I would have to rate the fishing as good to very good. The snook, redfish and bonus cobia have all been on the bite.
Cobia made up 100% of our trophy catches over the past week. Everyday the sun has shined long enough for me to spend an ample amount of time up in the tower stalking cobia across the flats to score. All but one fish has been 30 pounds or better. Our best day we had a bunch of redfish and snook, we boated 4 cobia over 30 pounds and lost 2 over 50 pounds. Those are some serious fish on 10# test fishing tackle, but in water less than three feet they have now where to go. Gees do they fight though, some of the fights go over half an hour. Fishing for cobia is more like hunting, that?s what makes it so exciting. I love spotting a fish from above in my tower, then watching someone make the perfect cast. You get to see it all happen, the anticipation of whether or not the fish will take the bait as you watch him swim towards it, man I just can?t get enough. Then watching a big bruiser scream across the surface after a well-set hook, even right down to the last critical moments at the boat they never give up. They are one of the greatest sport fish. I could pass up lots of biting fish just for the chance at a cobia, they are that much fun. Anyway I will be interested to see how long these guys will hold out for us.
The snook fishing has almost been equally spectacular, some days have been much better than others but they have really been quite consistent. I haven?t boated any real trophies but the slot fish have really picked up. If someone wants a keeper snook I would have to say now is the time to do it.
As for redfish, our numbers have been high, as many as 20 a day, but lots of them have been running on the smaller side even though we are still getting some keepers. Rumors are starting about the rapid influxes of reds as a result of our relatively new stocking program. Research tells me that we should start catching the first wave of releases, which should range anywhere from 15 to 18 inches. Suddenly there are red fish of that size everywhere, it?s starting to add up. I can only imagine what the future will bring, time will tell.
Well if you?re planning a fishing trip in the near future you can bet on snook, redfish and hopefully the cobia fishing will hold up. I don?t see why not as long as the water temps stay in the low 70s, that will keep those cobias happy. Hope you have enjoyed my report, keep those drags screaming!
Captain Matt Ercoli
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