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Tampa Bay - South Shore
Capt. Fred Everson
October 4, 2004
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Southshore Tampa Bay Fishing Report for October 4, 2004
Southshore Tampa Bay Fishing Report for October 4, 2004
The best news is that there’s no hurricane on the horizon -- quick, somebody knock wood. The other good news is that the bay is finally starting to look less and less like a day old cup of coffee.
We had a busy weekend at Shell Point Bait and Tackle for the first time in a long while. Anglers didn’t catch a lot, but almost everyone reported seeing lots of fish. My partner, Capt. Danny Guarino said he saw a herd of bull redfish on the flats off Pinellas Point. He said they were all over 20 pounds, but wouldn’t hit a spoon.
I poled Fred Byron around the flats south of Apollo Beach last week and we saw quite a few fish. We caught one redfish that was at the top of the slot and released it. The fish ate a yellow pompano jig. I had two other fish swirl on a red and white Top Dog Jr, but no takers. That was Friday night, and I didn’t hear many other success stories over the weekend.
Capt. Chet Jennings of Balm fished two charters on Saturday. The morning trip went well, but the afternoon fishing proved to be tough.
Look for everything to pick up on this side of the bay as soon as the water clears. Cobia should start patrolling the flats in the coming weeks, and snook will begin staging around the river mouths as water temperature drops.
This has been an excellent year for redfish, and there is no sign that will abate. I have been able to catch redfish on almost every trip since last January, and many of those fish were oversize. My favorite method is to pole the flats on extreme low tides when the fish tend to school up over sand. Long casts with RipTide crabs rigged on 3/8-ounce jig heads have been most productive.
Shell Point Bait and Tackle is going to run a one lure, two man team fishing tournament on October 24. Anglers may fish one lure, one size, one color, rigged they same way. They can use as many as necessary, but teams may fish with different lures. Captain’s meeting is at 8am, and weigh in closes at 4pm. Target species will be snook and redfish, and all fish will be live released after the weigh in. Dead fish will be penalized one pound. Payout will be 100 percent of entry fees evenly divided between the top three places. No pre-registration is required; entry fee is $25 per angler. Shell Point Bait and Tackle is located at the mouth of the Little Manatee River in Ruskin at 3340 West Shell Point Road (813) 641-3662.
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