Spring Is Here!
Capt. TJ Stewart
March 11, 2009
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing couldn't get much better! The water temperature is back up in the 70's and the fish love it. More and more fish are showing up in different areas and the numbers of them are good. It's just the beginning of a great spring fishing season.
We had a couple of cold days last week, but we still managed to get out and do some sheepshead fishing. They are spawning this time of the year, which makes for some great sheapshead fishing. If you're looking for a mess of fish for dinner, the sheepshead is a good fish for it. If you fish the 1 mile to 23 mile reefs with shrimp you can catch just about as many sheapshead as you want to catch. Other areas that are really good for sheapshead fishing are the passes - bridges, docks, or structure where there is a lot of water movement.
After a few days of 65 degrees to 75 degrees weather last week, the water temperature shot up in the 60's and the fish were back to biting live bait. The snook and trout were the first to bite. We didn't have any problem catching a limit of trout last week. Take a look at the picture. That is biggest trout of the season, coming in at 28 inches and almost 7 lbs. It's great to see trout fishing making such a come back over the past few years. It just shows that the size limits and the limits on the numbers of fish you can keep have helped the fishery come back.
Snook are back in season, and over the past week, we have managed to catch a few keeper fish. As the season gets further along, snook fishing should get better. We will start see more of the bigger fish. We've been catching a lot of snook in the river, but that is quickly changing. The temperatures are getting up and the fish are moving to the areas where they spend the spring.
When the water temperature gets up in the afternoons, the redfish get into a frenzy. This year, it seems like the water temperature has to be above 67 degrees before these fish want to feed on live bait. Lately, these fish have been in really shallow water. We've been able to catch them best in the afternoon when the tide is higher and the shallow water has warmed up to the 70's. Please visit www.castawaychartersinc.com and book your trip today!
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