Southshore Tampa Bay
Capt. Fred Everson
February 28, 2008
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Capt. Chet Jennings and Capt. Danny Guarino both told me they were catching big snook last week. Capt. Guarino said he caught and released six snook in the 28 to 33 inch slot, and Capt. Jennings released a 33-inch snook, and several more between 28 and 33 inches. Both captains were fishing with live bait from the Little Manatee River to Cockroach Bay. Capt. Guarino said he was getting his bait at the Skyway, but it was staying close to the bottom. He also said he did a couple of trips of Fort Desoto, and caught ladyfish and trout on live sardines.
Another cold front crossed the bay earlier this week. I fished from my canoe between Sand Key and Mag's Hole, but I did not find much outside the reef. Tides were so low early in the morning that I could get my boat off the lift until mid afternoon.
Thursday I did some scouting with Capt. Tom Rinehart of Apollo Beach. It was overcast and windy, so we didn't see much besides bonnethead sharks on the flats south of Symphony Isles. The sharks were a lot deeper than I usually find them, but they were hungry. We landed two in short order, and got cut off by two more fish. All were in the ten-pound class.
Cloudy skies and wind roiled water combined to frustrate our search for redfish, but it did peak out of the clouds for five minutes. Then we saw eight or ten redfish, all of which looked to be oversized. They would not eat anything. It was a quiet day on the flats with hardly a mullet making a splash.
Capt. Larry Malinoski told me he ran into a huge school of black drum in the middle of the bay off Bahia Beach on Friday. He said he was on the fish for four and a half hours and boated fish that weighed up to 40 pounds. Big drum are formidable fighters, but are often infested with internal parasites.
You can visit the captain's website at Tampabayfishingguide.com for charter info, or phone him at 813 830 8890.
Target Species:
Redfish Snook Cobia
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