Trout Heating up Soon
Capt. Stewart Ames
December 23, 2021
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
As of mid-December, water temperatures were still in the low seventies…pretty much unheard of for this time of year. These abnormally high temperatures affected several fisheries. Large seatrout, a primary target in early winter for those fishing St Joseph's Sound, were fewer in number and not always interested in eating. Normally, by this date, catches of 20-30 of these big trout are almost expected when weather and tide conditions are right. Over the last few weeks, catching a half dozen of these fish took several hours of strong effort. This will all change as of the writing of this report as morning temperatures of 50 degrees today will likely get the trout bite going strong.
On the flip side, back country snook, enjoying the heightened temperatures, were on the feed. Locating pockets of these fish has been relatively easy over the last few weeks. Once the boat is positioned in areas likely to hold fish, aggressively distributing whitebait chum will identify the exact location of active fish. Baits placed on top of feeding fish will almost always result in a strike. Although these fish tend to range from 20 - 26 inches for the most part, there are a few 30 plus inch fish mixed in occasionally. Action can be fast and keeping snook out of structure, even smaller ones, can be an exciting challenge. The arriving cold front will likely put an end to this action.
Recent trips to the near shore reefs have continued to be productive on the mangrove snapper. This action may continue for a bit although, if temperatures continue to drop, these fish may push a little further offshore. Good luck and good fishing.
Target Species:
Snook, trout, redfish, snapper, kingfish, mackerel
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