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Tampa Bay - South Shore

Capt. Fred Everson
December 6, 2007
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report

Great weather dominated the local fishing scene early in the month. Light winds, blue skies, and clear water made for great sight casting opportunities on the flats. I continued to target redfish and bonnethead sharks with success. Early in the morning south of Apollo Beach I began blind casting pompano jigs and RipTide’s Curtailers when I couldn’t see well. Then as the sun climbed higher and visibility improved I switched to free-lined large live shrimp. I caught several fish on both baits.

The best time to sight fish is on the extreme low tides of the new and full moon, with the best time of day for sight fishing falling between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. A low tide at noon is as good as it gets. Naturally, clear skies are better than clouds, and a wind that blows parallel to the shoreline makes for easy poling. If you don’t have a poling platform, the best way to get at these fish is to wade.

Besides redfish and bonnetheads, other species encountered in December might be flounder, jack crevalle, ladyfish and even the occasional snook if the water temperature is above 65 degrees. All of these will hit artificials or live or frozen shrimp. The trick is not to hit them in the head. Rather, you want to put the bait close enough where they can find it. I generally cast beyond the fish and to either side, and then try to sneak it close in where they can see it or smell it.

I have made several trips to the power plant in Apollo Beach without seeing so much as a ladyfish. But the water is still too warm to push anything into the warmer waters of the outflow. The next cold front could change all that.

There are some very big jack crevalles in the Little Manatee River now. Capt. Chet Jennings reports catching some monsters in the deep bends, and I heard a school thrashing the surface half a mile away at the mouth of the river last weekend. I put the binoculars on the south side of the river, and they were really tearing it up. I was tempted to drop my skiff in the water and chase them with my fly rod, but they soon disappeared.

Capt. Dean Henry and I did get into the jacks on the flats south of the river mouth one day last week, and hooked four or five. They were only two and three pounders, but several fish got into the backing on my seven-weight fly rod. There were bigger fish there – we saw another angler land a fish that had to be 30 inches after a prolonged battle, but we didn’t hook any of those. The fish we did catch were finicky. Jacks like the lure to be moving, and it takes a big sweep of the rod tip to move the fly fast enough to encourage a strike. When they finally do take it, keeping the line taught is a problem, but it’s a fun problem to have.

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Sight fishing for a variety of species on Tampa Bay's Soutshore. Two anglers fish primarily with aritficials (occasionally we throw live shrimp and cut bait -- no sardines).

Contact Info:

Everson's Charter Service
3428 B West Shell Point Road
Ruskin, FL 33570
Phone: 813-830-8890
Alt. Phone: 813-830-8890
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