Fishing Back In Action Tampa Bay!
Capt. TJ Stewart
February 1, 2010
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
The fish are turning back on… thanks to the warmer weather. Winter isn't over, but as long as it doesn't get as cold as it did at the beginning of January, fishing should remain good.
Fishing was a bit difficult last week due to the wind and bunk tides, but we worked with it and were successful. We weren't able to fish some of the areas that we usually fish, but we were able to find a good bite everyday with a little work.
Much to my surprise, the sheepshead bite was slower than I thought it would be. I think the biggest reason why is because we weren't able to get to the areas we usually fish this time of year because of the high winds. Don't worry; the sheepshead bite is going to pick up over the next few weeks because it's almost the time of year when they spawn. The number of sheepshead in the Bay should triple. Catching a 5 pound sheepshead is much like catching a 6 pound redfish… a lot of fun on light tackle. They are also good to eat.
The redfish bite has been great. Although there are many redfish in the shallow water, we haven't had much luck catching them. The water temperature has to increase a bit more before these fish will bite really good. On the other hand, we have had great luck with the redfish around structure. Fish around structure are usually looking for food. We have mostly been catching these fish on shrimp, but some days they have been hitting jigs too. We've caught a number of fish in the slot of 18 inches to 27 inches, and also a few over the slot.
We've also had great luck catching the black drum. The black drum is in the redfish family. This fish has to measure 14 inches to keep it. Like the redfish, the bigger this fish is the worse it tastes. When they get much over 25 inches they just aren't as tasty as the smaller fish. The next few weeks should bring many changes to the weather, water temperature, and fishing. Please visit www.castawaychartersinc.com and book a trip today!
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