Tampa Bay, Tarpon Springs, Clearwater & St. Petersburg

Capt. Clay Eavenson
November 21, 2007
Tarpon Springs - Saltwater Fishing Report

Timing is everything... lately.

 



Have

you ever told a joke that would have been funny two minutes ago, but

at the moment you chose to blurt the joke out, it was too late to

garner a chuckle? Well... I had bad timing today in one spot today.

Luckily, I hit another spot at just the right time.



 



I picked up my charter today and I made the bone head decision to

not catch bait prior to picking them up. The big trout

bite had been on fire and all you needed was a 1/8th oz. jig head

with any soft plastic on it to load up. My guys jumped in the boat

and I made the fatal flaw of announcing that, "we might catch 100

keeper trout today."  They were excited, and so was I, until we

showed up at the spot and only got one bite in an hour. Granted it

was a very nice 22" trout but I was about 99 fish short of meeting

my prediction. Those fish will probably be in those holes again on a

lower tide but I had scheduled this trip around high water. Bad

timing on my part.



 



Well, now that I made the great decision to not catch bait before

picking up my clients (I almost always catch bait prior to pick up)

I had to get some pinfish in the well. Luckily it only took about 10

minutes to load up and off we headed towards the mainland in New

Port Richey.



 



It

took a little time on the trolling motor to find a nice sized school

of mullet, but when we did, we put the Power Pole down and started

slinging baits. It wasn't to long before we were getting slammed by

mid-slot redfish. We boated 8 in 30 minutes and then we had to get

off of the flat before we were high and dry.



 



We only got two more bites after that rush today, another redfish

and another really nice trout. That's the second trip in a row where

the bite lasted less than 30 minutes. Granted, we have done well in

those short time periods but it wouldn't hurt my feelings if the

bite lasted a little longer. All I can say is that if you know where

fish are, stay on them. They are going to bite eventually and if you

aren't there when that brief window is open, you may miss out.

Again, look for milling mullet. Throw live or cut pinfish, 10" under

a cork, into the mullet schools, and if your timing is right, you

could be in for a fast and furious bite.

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