 |
Tampa Bay - South Shore
Capt. Fred Everson
August 20, 2005
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
The after effects of red tide have been of disastrous proportions in the Gulf of Mexico, but thankfully less so on the Southshore of Tampa Bay. Captain Chet Jennings has been scoring on snook and redfish, and reports that the snook are healthy and good sized.
The bait situation has finally fallen into the usual summer pattern of small baits that are hard to find. Capt. Nick Winger told me yesterday that he checked every range marker between the mouth of the Little Manatee River and the Skyway to find only a few small threadfin herring. He finally came back to the shop to buy some shrimp, and quickly thereafter caught a limit of mangrove snapper on some secret rock piles.
On our most recent wade-fishing trip, some of the 10 anglers who participated caught fish, but none were legal. Capt. Ray Markham caught some short trout and an oversized redfish. Frank Sargeant caught some snook up to 27 inches, but no one caught a legal fish. I found one small pod of tailing fish and hooked up with a Rip Tide flats chub, but promptly got broke off. I never saw another tail the rest of the evening. The water temperature has been extremely hot, which probably has something to do with the lackadaisical afternoon bite. The best bite for snook and reds has been around sunrise, and even that has been short lived.
Captain Larry Malinsoki reports some good fishing offshore, but said that he’s had to travel more than 50 miles to get into a decent bite.
Snook season will reopen on September 01, and all the reports I’m hearing are positive. Anglers are reporting seeing lot’s of fish on the flats and in the passes, with lots of slot sized fish in the mix. Current limit for snook on the West Coast when the season starts is one fish per angler between 26 and 34 inches.
Snook are returning hungry from the rigors of the summer spawn, but finding decent sized bait is apt to be a problem for the next few weeks. The best choice for artificials will be lures that shed weeds. With the water temperature in the low 90’s, there’s going to be plenty of weeds and algae to contend with for some time to come.
Spanish mackerel have returned to the bay in force. Capt. Nick Winger said he saw multiple schools of mackerel feeding on glass minnows, but he also said they wouldn’t eat much else. Spanish mackerel can become very one dimensional in their feeding habits when glass minnows are on the menu. Here a small fly like an Eat ‘Em rigged on a short length of light wire, or heavy monofilament will sometimes do the trick.
For up to the minute reports on bait, tides, and general fishing information, feel free to call us at Shell Point Bait and Tackle in Ruskin at (813) 641-3662 between sunrise and sunset.
More Fishing Reports:
|
|
|
|
