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Tampa Bay - Saltwater
Capt. Matt Ercoli
March 1, 2005
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Hello fellow fishermen, sorry for the delay in my fishing report. We just can't seem to get rid of these cold fronts. It's not like we
are in a deep freeze or anything, we just can't seem to get enough sun long enough to warm up the flats. All it will take is a few warm
days of sun and we should have really great fishing on the flats. Despite the inconsistent weather we are still having decent days on the
mixed bag of fish. The big surprise is the trout fishing. I have to say that trout fishing is as good as it has ever been. It's not just the
numbers of fish, it's the average size of the fish. We have been catching trout everyday in the 23 to 26 inch class. Every day but one
over the last five days we have boated a trout over 26 inches. That's a real trophy. One day last week after a slow day on snook we
made a quick stop at one of my trophy trout holes and caught 10 fish in less than an hour. The smallest trout was 221/2 inches, 3 where
24 or better and one broke the 26 inch mark. Trout fishing truly doesn't get much better than that. The day before yesterday repeated
the scenario in the same spot. That doesn't include all the keeper size trout we have been catching in the 17 to 20 inch range. An angler
will have no problem bringing some fillets home right now. Along with trout we have been catching some sheepshead, a few black drum
and some snook.
For the fly anglers the trout are hitting quite readily. There are a few blue fish crashing the beaches too. Well we have another cold front
moving in as I write this. It looks like our snook fishing will be delayed for a few more days. They were just starting to creep back out
on the flats yesterday in some real numbers. Even with morning water temps around 70 they would really like to get out on those
shallow flats to feed. All we need is for it to really warm up for a couple of days and it won't take long to have some great snook fishing.
Really, until then I am not complaining. The afternoon temperatures have left us in tee shirts and shorts, and the trout bite couldn't be
any better. Everyone has really been enjoying themselves.
If you are planning a tarpon trip this summer you had better make your plans, I'm running out of dates and currently filling April in. It's
one of our best months of the year for snook fishing as well as giant cobia on the flats. We can also have some good redfishing. As for
the fly fisherman April is my number one month to stalk and site cast to snook in water so shallow you must get out and wade. It can
also be a great time on the near-shore reefs for little tunny, kingfish, Spanish, and yes sometimes permit. Also if you are interested in a
giant cobia on the fly it is the best month, the fish are in very shallow water, which makes for excellent site fishing opportunities.
Hope you have enjoyed my fishing report. Good luck fishing!
Capt. Matt Ercoli
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