Tampa Bay Right Bait, Right Place, Right Time!
Capt. TJ Stewart
August 25, 2009
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Many factors have to be right for a great day of fishing! The right bait, good weather, appropriate tides, etc… all work together to determine how good a day of fishing is going to be. If all the factors aren't in line, it can make fishing tuff. Most of the time you can make any day like this just plan it right. Lately, we've had the right bait, good weather, and good tides, making fishing great.
We haven't done much snook fishing lately. The high tides have put the fish in the trees, which is common this time of year. When there is enough water on the flats, the fish go straight from the edge of it to the bushes partly because the water temperature is so warm. The fish are looking for shade. Snook in bushes can certainly be hard to find at times. Good areas to look for snook this time of year are creeks, little bayous, off the edge of channels, or anywhere where the water moves well. We did snook fish late one afternoon last week and did very well. Take a look at the picture!
It never gets too hot to catch redfish. They continue to move around on the flats, making them easy to catch one day and not the next. On the other hand, there are always some redfish in the bays that just don't move much. However, the fish that stay in the bays can be much harder to catch than the fish that move around on the flats because of the tides. We usually have to wait for them to come into our chum. Over the next month, these fish should settle into the areas where there spend a little more time.
Trout fishing has been really great, but we have only been doing it when we have been fishing for a slam or we wanted dinner. We've mostly been catching trout mixed in with snook and redfish on the flats.
The tarpon bite has been great early in the morning. We have managed to jump a few tarpon each morning. Everything has to be just right to catch a tarpon. The right bait, the right place, the right time, etc… The size of the fish varies from day to day.
Shark action! Wow!! Wish I had some pictures of the one we had up to the boat 3-4 times after it almost taking all the line a few times. We had about a 8 ft bull shark man what a great fight. We also managed to boat 6 others little smaller mostly all black tips. To say no more the shark fishing is on!
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