What can I say about the start to this month except it was brutal. Horrible weather with strong winds and extremely bitter cold fronts left us stuck on land. Temperatures dropped into the high 20s and low 30s for consecutive days. Luckily Tampa Bay’s fish population didn’t take a hit like we saw in 2010. Parts of Florida were more greatly affected by the cold and some major fish kills took place. Mainly trout and especially the snook suffered the effects more. New Smyrna with regards to Mosquito Lagoon had a significant snook kill. Luckily, we escaped with only a few fish succumbing to the cold. Not to mention the fact that a lot of people have been getting sick with the flu. My son and myself both got sick for a week, but I am happy to say it was minor and I am back on the water.
I spent the last two days running charters and they were both pretty consistent. The cold weather has pushed the white bait off the bridges and they have virtually disappeared. My first trip I spent 2 hours looking for bait and had to call my charter in a last-minute effort to stop by a bait shop that was on their way and pick up some shrimp. Yesterday, I made sure to stop off at the bait shop before getting to the ramp, and attempting to find bait, which I was also unsuccessful. Shrimp have been on the small to medium size, but we should be getting some bigger shrimp here shortly.
Both the past two days were extremely foggy to start. I can deal with a lot of different weather, but dense fog has to be the scariest. It was so foggy that I had a hard time putting through the channel and staying inside the markers, but being a seasoned veteran, safety is top priority and knowing when to be patient and go slow is more important than getting to fish as quick as possible.
Both mornings started out slow catching a few fish here and there. The deep-water oyster bars held some decent trout action on artificial. Both days we caught 20 or so trout waiting on the tide to come up. Once the tide came up, we made our way into some of the creeks and canals and had a great time catching a lot of redfish. The redfish were small ranging from 12 to 16 inches, but it was one after another. We easily caught over 30 both days.
Along with the hordes of small redfish we also landed a bunch of whiting, ladyfish, and few smaller sheepshead. The snook were cruising the shorelines and warming up, but they wanted nothing to do with our shrimp or artificial we threw at them. They are still a little to cold, but snook fishing is about to kick off and I can’t wait to see what we get into.
Water temps during the past few weeks were in the low to mid 50s. That is very cold for our area, but we have had some nice warmer weather the past week and was happy to see the water temps get into the mid-60s and probably high 60s by the end of the day. Strong winds tomorrow will keep me off the water, but should push the bait back to the bridges with the warmer water being pushed into the bay. A sight I can’t wait to see. Nothing better than having live wells packed with delicious white bait.
If you are looking to get out there and do some fishing now is the time to go. Cooler temps and hungry fish will make for some epic days on the water. Redfish, snook, and trout will still be the main target with some other opportunities mixed in. We did see a few fun sized tarpon rolling, but with tiny shrimp there was very little chance for a hook up. Sheepshead and snapper will also be around. Book your Tampa Bay fishing charter today! Call or text me directly to save from online booking fees! 407-977-7650