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Bringing Out The Good, Bad, Ugly

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 16, 2007

GO FISHING is a daily look at the area fishing scene through the eyes of local charter boat captains and fishing guides. Today: Ray Markham.

The winter solstice occurring Saturday marks the first day of winter and also the day with the shortest period of daylight between sunrise and sunset. A cold front moving down the state this weekend likely will remind us that though we've had warm conditions this month, winter is definitely on its way.

Fish have had it easy with warm weather and water temperatures on the flats reaching as high as 80 degrees the past couple weeks. That likely will come to an end with this cold front. Cold temperatures likely will shut down feeding for a couple days.

The days prior to a cold front can be very productive. However, a high pressure system hovering over Florida for the past week brought out the good, the bad and the ugly, despite nice weather.

Leo Himmel and Steve Cohen from the Baltimore area caught snook, trout, redfish, bluefish, flounder and others while working CAL Jigs with Shad tails in Terra Ceia and lower Tampa Bay.

Cohen managed to hit an inshore Grand Slam that included a hefty 24-inch red, while Himmel bagged a nice flounder that taped out at just more than 18 inches.

There were a few times when the action was hot. Unfortunately it was with bluefish, ladyfish and puffers. Fluorocarbon leader may have allowed us to get more bites, but it got bad when bluefish took their toll on jigs, cutting us off a couple dozen times.

It got ugly when ladyfish feeding in frenzied fashion chafed away at our leaders, causing us to go through more than 25 yards of fluorocarbon line. Puffers devastated soft plastic bodies as well. Body count by the trip's end numbered in the triple-digit range.

Ray Markham co-hosts

"Florida Sportsman Magazine Radio Live," Saturdays from 8-9 a.m. on WWBA, 1040 AM, and can be reached for charter at (941) 723-2655.

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