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Weather Makes Fishing Tougher

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 25, 2008

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

Tough weather conditions kept most anglers off the water much of the week. The wind blew Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and it was interspersed with rain. We also are expecting another cold front - at the end of May, no less. It finally calmed down a bit on Thursday after it rained most of the morning.

Keli Emery said she caught five keeper-sized redfish on the flats between Sand Key and Piney Point using chunks of threadfin. She told me she tried some of the range markers for tripletail in the morning, but the wind pushed her onto the flats.

I am seeing a lot of mangrove snapper around the docks at the mouth of the Little Manatee River, but most of them appear to be undersized. Bigger fish may be found around deep-water structure in the bay. The Bahia Beach Reef and the reef at Port Manatee are good spots to fish for snapper. Small live shrimp on 1/0 circle hooks tied to light leaders will catch them.

Captain Chet Jennings said snook fishing has been slow on the south shore of Tampa Bay for most of May. He said he has been catching a few redfish, and that bait has been easy to find on the flats and on the range markers near the ship channels. He has also caught a couple of cobia, with the latest traveling with a bull shark off Sand Key.

There are some tarpon around, but you need calm water to be able to see them. I usually find them around the Power Plant in Apollo Beach this time of year. I like to throw jigs at rolling fish at first light before the boat traffic puts them down. These fish are usually juveniles weighing less than 50 pounds, and they are fun to catch - you don't have to fight them for an hour or more. Even on 20-pound test you can land them in a few minutes and release them no worse for the wear.

Visit Fred Everson's Web site at Tampabayfishingguide.com for charter info or call (813) 830-8890.

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