 |
Tampa Bay - South Shore
Capt. Fred Everson
March 15, 2006
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Snook bite’s on, but where’s the bait?
Snook fishing picked up a couple of notches this week, but the guides working out of Shell Point are still running 18 miles to net bait. On top of having to travel that far, the bait that they are netting is practically too small to fish with. 2006 has been a tough year for pilchards thus far. Last year we were catching bait under the pier at Bahia Beach in February.
Snook are staging in the passes south of the Little Manatee River, and some fish are already starting to move out onto the flats. The fish are there, but March winds have made it tough to get at them.
Sheepshead have moved out of the mangrove backcountry and are massed in a big school off Piney Point. Several anglers came back to the dock with a cooler full of big sheepshead they caught on live shrimp. This continues to be some of the best fishing for sheepshead we have ever seen. These massed fish are apparently heading offshore to spawn, which takes about three weeks, then they return to their usual haunts around pilings and sea walls.
I had several reports of anglers finding big schools of redfish around Piney Point but they couldn’t get any of the fish to eat. We did have a few redfish cross the cleaning table this week, and they came out of the passes in Little Cockroach Bay.
The shrimp supply continues to be very good with a nice variety of the larger sizes. That should continue through spring.
Water temperature is prime right now. 70 degrees is the benchmark for spring fishing to take off. I expect to see tarpon, cobia, and Spanish mackerel any day. I’m seeing plenty of spotted eagle rays on the flats south of Apollo Beach, and have already had a couple of cobia reports.
Visit Capt. Fred online at www.tampabayfishingguide.com or call Shell Point
Bait and Tackle at (813) 641- 3662.
More Fishing Reports:
|
|
|
|
