Fall Fishing Arrives
Capt. Fred Everson
October 24, 2008
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Water temperature in the bay has begun to drop, and that's good news for fishermen. I went wading for the first time in a long while, and was surprised at how cool the water was, despite some recent high temperatures. The most recent reading from the Gulf of Mexico was 79 degrees, but it was nowhere near that on the Southshore flats. It was cold enough for me to stay shallow enough to get the knees wet. That's why I prefer to wade on extreme low tides.
I fished a mid morning minus tide a couple of days after the full moon this month and the bite was hot. I hook a couple of big trout, one on a Mirrolure and the other on a jerk bait and both fish were over 20 inches. Anglers should be aware that trout season closes on Tampa Bay on November 01 and will reopen on January 01, 2009. Catch and release action should be the best it has since the red tide event of three years ago. Trout are fast growing fish, and it would appear they have come all the way back.
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Besides the trout, I also hooked three snook, all of which looked to be right at the slot minimum of 28 inches. It must be that the 28 to 33 inch slot limit is working as planned, and I like it. There is a world of difference between a 27-inch snook and 25-inch fish, and the fight is what snook fishing is about. If you want to eat a lot of fish, try mangrove snapper. Snook are simply way too good on the end of a line to be thought of only as dinner. I also hooked a small redfish, but didn't land it. I was wading south of the Little Manatee River, and did not see many redfish, but there were plenty of snook, and several big schools of jack crevalles tearing it up on the surface in shallow water.
It is also interesting to see grass growing on the flats between Simmons Park and Apollo Beach. There is now grass on what used to be bare sand. I suppose that means that the water quality is improving, but it makes it harder to see fish.
The first cold front of the season brought some relief from the heat, but it came with some wind. It roiled the water and mucked it up for a few days, but it's still a lot clearer than it was a month ago. As the temperature continues to drop, I expect to start seeing some cobia on the flats. November can be a great month for big ling in shallow water as long as the temperature stays above 70 degrees. A sudden drop in temperature will send these fish into the hot water outflow at the power plant in Apollo Beach where they usually draw a big crowd. The smaller fish get picked off quickly, but the big ones that have been hooked before are a lot harder to entice. Cobia are not dumb, they just grow fast – a 25 pound fish might be only two years old.
Average Gulf water temperature at press time was 75 degrees.
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