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Tampa Bay - South Shore
Capt. Fred Everson
October 25, 2004
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Southshore Fishing Report for October 25
Late October fishing is shaping up to be everything it’s supposed to be. Capt. Chet Jennings and Capt. Billy Nobles are both reporting hot fishing for snook and redfish on the southshore of Tampa Bay using live sardines – which are finally starting to gain some size. Bait has been plentiful since the hurricanes, but it has been mostly small.
The fall run of Spanish mackerel is in and some of the fish are topping 30 inches. That bite should last right through Thanksgiving unless we get some early cold fronts and a drop in water temperature. Some mackerel stay in the bay all year long, but the big schools migrate in and out in spring and fall.
Despite some early action on the flats, the cobia fishing has been pretty quiet. Keli Emery told me she ran the marks on the north side of the bay looking for cobia or tripletail, but didn’t find much in the way of either. We fished together last Friday and it was so breezy we took shelter in the backcountry around Simmons Park. Keli caught a snook that was an inch or two short on a 7MR Mirrolure, and I lost what looked to be a keeper on the same plug. It threw the lure back at me with a shake of the head and went on its way.
Earlier in the week I had an interesting trip by myself. I went wade fishing with a float tube in tow, which carried a crab net, a plastic bin and a small cooler with a six pack. It was dead flat calm as I went to launch my Action Craft. I had forgotten to remove the plug on my trip a few days prior, and it had rained a little so I pulled the plug to drain the hull before launching. Of course I never remembered to put it back. I parked the truck, got in the boat, cranked it up and headed off to the flats. With only myself on board, the boat planed off, and all the water that collected in the bilge ran out during the 15 minute run to the flats. I rigged all my gear and got my waders on and hopped over the side in less than two feet of water. About 10 minutes later I turned to look at the boat, and at a glance I could see something was not right. The skiff was down in the stern and the anchor line was slack. Only then did I remember the plug. I finally got the damn thing in and turned the bilge pump on, and about 20 minutes later, the boat was finally afloat again. Good thing I anchored the boat in such shallow water. Had the tide been going out, I would have dropped the hook in deeper water, and that could have been really embarrassing.
That was the only mishap of the day, and the rest of the plan fell into place. I netted 20 large male blue crabs, and saw three times that many females. They are easy to tell apart in clear shallow water, as the cow crabs have bright red claws. Female crabs that are not bearing eggs are fair game, but traditionally my family never kept female hard crabs, so I don’t even net them. The recreational limit for blue crabs is one five-gallon pail full, with a five-inch minimum on the carapace point to point.
Picking crabs used to be a lot of work, but recently I bought a tool that makes cleaning two dozen crabs a snap. You have to dress the crabs off live, remove the carapace and the dead men then break them in half and ice them down for a few hours. Then you run the chilled halves through a plastic press that pushes the meat out of the shell. At $60, the tool ain’t cheap, but guess what, it works. Crab cakes anyone?
We have set the date for the Second Annual Jack Attack fishing tournament at Shell Point Bait and Tackle for December 05, 2004. That’s a Sunday. Entry fee is $25 and pre-registration is requested. The shop will supply you with a brand new Zebco fishing outfit to use in the tournament, and you may fish with artificials or live bait. The target is the heaviest Jack Crevalle and the first place prize is a Daiwa Rod and Reel Combination worth $180. Last year we had about 25 anglers and it was a blast. A cookout will follow the weigh in with food provided by the bait shop. For more information contact Fred or Danny at the bait shop at 813 641 3662, or email me at [email protected]. Information will also be posted on my website at Tampabayfishingguide.com.
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