Welcome to TBO.com. Skip directly to: our Keyword Search, Section Navigation, Content.

TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Sports

TBO > Sports

Storms Force The Fish To Move

By RAY MARKHAM

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 3, 2008

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.

Passing storms have a tendency to shake things up and move fish around. During the past couple of weeks, Tropical Storm Fay and Hurricane Gustav changed the inshore scene dramatically. Water temperatures have bounced up and down like a yo-yo. All the rain and cloudy weather caused the temperatures to fall into the low 80s, but between storms the temperature moved into the upper 80s on the flats.

High winds on the open water of the Gulf stirred up the bottom, making the water cloudy and limiting visibility. The turbidity in the Gulf made its way into Tampa Bay on each flood tide. Coming off the new moon, we have had some big high tides. As a result, I have been working the backwaters of Terra Ceia Bay to find some cleaner water. We've been finding some snook around the mangroves, decent trout fishing in holes on the flats and redfish sunning themselves on shallow sand bars.

The open waters of Tampa Bay have produced trout, bluefish and gag and red grouper. While fishing with Pam Kirk of Pensacola and Wendy and Bob Bloomer of Madeira Beach, we picked up trout to 21 inches and juvenile red grouper on MirrOlure Top Dogs and DOA Shrimp while fishing the John's Pass area inside the Intracoastal Waterway on the incoming tide.

When trying to find out where the fish have moved to, the most important factor is finding the food sources that your target species is seeking. Some clues that could indicate good fishing locations are spots with diving birds, showering bait schools and bird roosts where the partially digested remains from roosting birds are excreted.

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

Share this: