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Tampa Bay - Saltwater
Capt. Matt Ercoli
September 1, 2002
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Well September is finally here along with the opening of snook season. August was a great month for fishing but it?s nice to see that we are getting a little closer to fall and break away from this dog day summer heat. Actually I would have to say this past August would have to be the best I can remember. It was especially good for snook. On some of the better days we caught over 45 fish, not a lot of big ones but the action was fast. Most of the snook were in the 22 to 26 inch class. Now with the opening of snook season I will start to search and locate schools of larger fish.
As for redfishing, it has turned out to be a typical August, lots of fish in lots of locations with sizes from 15 inches to 35 inches. August and September are traditionally our better redfish months and it seems that it will hold true this year as well. I have also had some great offshore fishing the past month. We had some great catches of little tunny, cobia and Spanish mackerel. I like to take my die-hard fly charters offshore this time of year. It?s very consistent and there is nothing like a 15 pound little tunny on a nine-weight fly rod, or a 30-pound cobia for that matter. I had a few days offshore this past month that where absolutely ridiculous. I had fish chummed up and coming from every direction. It?s a problem when you have 10 and 15 pound little tunny eating your fly when your trying to cast to a school of 20 to 30 pound cobia. One day we even had an unseasonable 50-inch king fish eat the fly on the surface just a few meters off the bow of the boat.
I?m looking forward to a great September, it?s always a great month for the flats as well as offshore. The fishing should be very similar to August but cooler. Now that snook season is open I will spend more time looking for larger fish, unless the redfish keep us too busy. It?s hard to pass up a school of bull reds even if they are too big to keep. They pull so hard and are so willing to cooperate whether you cast live bait or a fly. We have lots going on these days, really the decision is yours. Redfish, snook, little tunny, cobia and the permit have started to show a bit lately.
I hope you have enjoyed my report, if you are interested in going fishing give me a call. Good luck on the water!
Capt. Matt Ercoli
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