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Tampa Bay - Saltwater
Capt. Matt Ercoli
March 17, 2002
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Well, it seems spring has finally arrived in a big way! Blue skies, warm weather, and most importantly for fishing, warm water temperatures. It is amazing what a few degrees in water temperature can do for fishing. The middle of last week we were working hard for each and every snook. The past week with water temps in the 70?s it didn?t matter where you cast, you were catching snook. Today was a perfect example of how good the fishing is. We where done fishing by 1pm in the afternoon and boated over fifty snook, 20 of which where caught on the fly rod. Steve Brugger and I had a banner day on the fly Wednesday. Steve boated 17 snook on the fly. When the fishing really got hot it was too much for me to handle, I had to pick up a fly rod myself. I know I caught no less than 10 on the fly in an hour and a half. The only reason we didn?t boat 40 or 50 snook on the fly was because Steve started throwing various fly?s which aren?t conducive to snook fishing. We even tried a few large bass poppers and they even brought a few hits. As far as number go, snook fishing couldn?t get any better. It is possible to boat over 50 snook on live bait per day and as many as 30 on a fly. We haven?t been catching a lot of large fish but then again I haven?t really been targeting them. There are plenty of slot size fish if you are interested in a few to eat and a few trophies lurking around as well.
As for other fish, we have been catching a lot of nice keeper trout as well as a few redfish. There are a few cobia cruising the flats, they should really start to pick up over the next couple of weeks. The tarpon have yet to show themselves but I would guess they would start to appear in fishable numbers over the next week or two as long as the water temp continues to climb.
Offshore fishing I have not done because the snook fishing has been so good. I hear kingfish are starting to show, and there are lots of Spanish mackerel.
Well if you have a trip planned with me in the near future prepare yourself for some fast action snook fishing. If you are thinking of planning a trip this spring I will give you the run down of what to look forward too. April is a great month for snook, redfish, cobia and trout. It is especially good for trophy snook and trout. All of the snook have moved to the flats and this is when the big boys are especially vulnerable to being full with live bait. It is also the single best month for a trophy trout. Last April one tout we boated tipped the scales at nearly 10 pounds. Last April also provided some of the best cobia fishing I have ever done. Most of them ran between 20 and 50 pound. We are site-fishing them in 3ft of water or less, making them a great target for light tackle and fly fisherman alike. Last April our best day on cobia was 7 over 40 inches, the largest I would have guessed was nearly 50 pounds that day. Don?t forget our near shore reefs in April for permit, little tunny, kingfish and Spanish mackerel. Permit fishing can be hit or miss, but when we get on a big school its not uncommon to do battle with 15 or 20 of them. Most range in the 6 to 20 pound class. They can sometimes exceed 40 pounds on occasion. Pound for pound I have never done battle with a fish that pulls harder than the little tunny. Most of them run in the 10 to 20 pound class. My fly fishermen really seem to enjoy them.
Tarpon, well I know I preach how great March is for tarpon but because of the late spring I believe April will be the better of the two for this year. Most of the fish will range from 90 to 130 pounds and they can top out over 200 pounds at this time of year.
Well I need to get my boat ready for tomorrow?s charter, I hope you have enjoyed my fishing report. Keep your drags screaming!
PS?I have openings for the 23rd and 24th of March for anyone interested!
Capt. Matt Ercoli
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