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Cooler water equalls Hot Fishing in Tampa Bay
Capt. George Hastick
October 13, 2011
St. Petersburg - Saltwater Fishing Report
Snook have been actively feeding with good quantities of fish being caught during a moving tide, especially with the cooler water temperatures. The best lures to use are live whitebait but if you prefer lures the super spook jr (top water) and MirrOlures she pup( top water ) and the Mirrodine (suspending) are all good choices. Colors that have been working are bone, red/white and #18 in the mirrolure. I have been finding snook along mangroves and grass flats adjacent to deeper water drop offs.
Trout have been abundant on many of the grass flats spotted with sand holes in the 4-6 foot range. Most of the fish have been ranging from 15 to 19 inches with a few above 20 inches on most days. The trout bite when the water is moving can get extremely good with hits on almost every cast. Whitebait, shrimp and gulp shrimp on a 1/4 ounce jig head will all work well for these speckled targets.
Redfish can be found from the beaches to well inside the upper parts of Tampa Bay. Some areas are holding small to large schools of redfish but other areas have scattered reds in small clusters of up to 10 fish. With the rain and winds that we have had some of the areas water clarity is not that good. In these areas I rely on noise or scent to try and locate the reds. A top water lure like the super spook jr or the she pup will cover a lot of area and will produce an attractive noise that fish can pick up on from a good distance. It is a very good tool to use to locate fish and then use cut bait that puts out a strong scent to bring the rest of the fish to you.
Many of the areas are holding all three species, with only small moves in your position you can catch a inshore slam. Areas to target are Fort Desoto, Pinellas Point, Weedon Island, Picnic Island and the Gandy Area. One of the nice by catches we have been getting is keeper flounder in the sandy areas near the edges of the grass flats.
The Tampa Bay bridges are still holding some large black drum to 60 lbs with most ranging between 30-45lbs. Blue crab quartered or halfed with enough weight to keep it on the bottom will get them to bite.
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