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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 22, 2007

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

Mother Nature is sure good to local weekend anglers.

She sets up a quick cold front midweek, then warms things up through Christmas. That cold front was just the shot of adrenalin that the fishery needed to keep the winter visiting gator trout hanging around. In with the trout is a bumper crop of lizard fish.

Being an opportunistic species, they can be fun to catch - especially for children who don't mind as long as what's on the other end of the line pulls back.

Drifting the flats this week was slow right after the cold front but dramatically picked up after the warm-up. Using jigs, we caught several trout, blues, sea bass and other assorted species.

That midweek cold snap also temporarily slowed down the mackerel bite at the Skyway Fishing Piers, but manager Mike Tyson said that with the return to mild conditions, he expects the Spanish to show up again in good numbers.

Grouper fishing continues to be productive there. Many are shorts but 27- to 30-inch keepers often are hauled over the rails. Tyson also reports the sheepshead bite has kicked into gear, with most being caught on shrimp.
Captain Craig Lahr has been working the oyster bars and rock piles of St. Joseph Sound shoreline dead sticking Saltwater Assassin "Blurp" highly scented jig tails, catching some very nice redfish.

Hear "The Captain Mel Show" on Saturdays from 6-9 a.m. on WFLA, 970 AM. Also, visit "Fishing Florida OnLine Magazine" at capmel.com.

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