GO FISHING is a look at the area fishing scene through the eyes of local charter boat captains and fishing guides. Today: Frank Sargeant.
With afternoon temperatures close to 80 this weekend, expect a spring-like turn on of shallow-water fish. The new-moon tides through Sunday and Monday will mean a lot of great run-out fishing along the south shore of Tampa Bay and anywhere shallows feed into narrow cuts.
Wade and cast a DOA shrimp or swimbait, or free-line a live shrimp.
Captain C.A. Richardson (www.captaincarichardson.com/flats-class-charters), says the afternoon warm-ups are the time to go looking for big trout in the shallows of Tampa Bay. Lunkers sometimes cruise water only a foot deep, and though they're extremely wary in the shallow water, Richardson says they'll take a well-presented topwater or a Paul Brown lure.
He says redfish also will go shallow to catch some sun in the afternoons this month.
It's still not too late to load up on sand trout, with thousands of the tasty panfish schooling in the lower Alafia ship basin and in the Port Manatee channel, as well as north of the Dunedin Causeway and here and there off the beaches. Small plastic-tailed jigs, swimbaits or a piece of fresh shrimp will do the job.
There are still plenty of sheepshead in residential canals, particularly off Sarasota Bay and at Apollo Beach. Find rocky edges or riprap and fish live shrimp close to bottom.
You'll catch a mix of small black drum and the occasional red and snook in these waters.
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