Summer Doldrums are Here
Capt. Fred Everson
August 22, 2009
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
The near miss by a tropical storm shut the bite down pretty hard for a couple of days. Even the offshore fishing was reported to be slow, according to Capt. Larry Malinsoki.
We did catch a few fish ahead of the storm. Last weekend we had great low tides around sunset, and for a couple of nights we caught slams of snook, redfish and trout. Snook season will open in 10 days, and from what I have seen this summer, there should be plenty of slot sized fish around. I have caught more snook over 27 inches than ever.
Some redfish finally showed up on the Southshore flats between Sand Key and Port Manatee. We caught a couple of keepers while wading just south of the Little Manatee River. The bite really turned on after the sun went down. We caught all our fish that evening on the same new penny colored jerk bait. We also caught a few short trout on the same lure.
We also fished on Monday evening, with a minus tide at around 8:00 PM. The conditions were perfect, and the fishing was great, but the catching wasn't so hot. I never had the first hit, but Tom White caught a flounder and a couple of short trout, and Mike Strickland caught a short snook.
The best news is that there is still plenty of bait on the flats, and some of it is good sized. Most of the sardines are small enough to gill a three eighth inch net, so a quarter inch net is a better choice for small baits in shallow water.
Water temperature in the Gulf has been a steady 89 degrees for weeks, and that tends to make for slow fishing, especially on the flats in the middle of the day.
Captain Fred can be reached at 813 830 8890 for more information, or you can visit his website at Tampabayfishingguide.com.
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