Trout bite heats up
Capt. Fred Everson
October 7, 2008
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
The abundance of scaled sardines on the Tampa Bay flats is the big story this week. Every where I have been on both sides of the bay, I have been seeing large schools of good sized white bait. With so much live bait available, it's hard to believe that fish would eat anything else, but so it is.
On Saturday I took clients to Pinellas Point to fish for trout. I had heard a recent report of a hot trout bite on the West side of the bay and I was eager to check it out. Despite a pretty good blow out of the northeast, we ventured across the bay in a good chop early in the morning. The tide was outgoing, with a low at half past noon, which usually means hot fishing on the Point.
Yesterday morning everything played out by the rules. Once we crossed the bar and began to drift, Capt. Cade Burgdorf of Homosassa hooked a nice trout on a fresh out of the box Mirrolure 7MR. The trout repaid the favor by promptly burying one of the hooks in Capt. Burgdorf's hand. Mercifully, the sharp hook passed through the web between the fingers and we snipped the point off with a pair of wire cutters with little harm done – but then again, I wasn't doing any of the bleeding. Vic Anthony of New Jersey hooked the biggest trout of the day, and also boated a bluefish and a mackerel. The bite was consistent all morning long on the Mirrolures.
At 11:15 we headed back across the bay in a 2 foot chop and it took us nearly 45 minutes to make the eight mile run back to my dock on the Little Manatee River, but the wind was head on so we stayed fairly dry.
Join Capt. Fred for an evening of fishing instruction at Skipper's Smokehouse on Tuesday, October 14 7 to 10 PM. Registration fee is $25 and couples get in two for one. A copy of the captain's latest book is included with admission. Call 813 830 8890 for more information.
Target Species:
Trout, snook, redfish, Spanish mackerel, cobia, shark
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