3 Rookers Fishing Report

We made it to 3 Rookers Bar on Saturday evening and camped Saturday night. We fished that evening and landed a few small trout and we talked with some fellow campers that had fished all day and had caught some keepers around 20-22 inchers. The next morning we went out and drifted the flats with some nice trout landed, until around 8:00am. We had a report that a few 60-80lb tarpon had been landed in the pass between Honeymoon and 3 Rookers.

Other places around the bay were hooking up with Spanish Macks and off the gandy a 30lb Kingfish was landed last week. Fishing seemed to pick up with the weather but another front moving through might turn them off for a day or two.

Look for my pics from the campign trip soon.

3 Rookers Weekend Fishing

The weekend bite should be good and hopefully the winds will cooperate. Redfish are on the flats and the Snook are in the passes. Kingfish are close to shore from 3-10 miles out. Some Pompano are hitting on the beaches. The spanish mackerel are hitting at the bridges and on the piers. Grouper are hitting in good numbers if you can get your baits past the Red Snapper. Remember Red Snapper are not in season UNTIL 1 June. This is a new law that just went into affect.

I will be hitting 3 Rookers this weekend and the flats around it. I will post a report when I get back.

Weekend Fishing

After this cold front has come through we should see a turn on of the fishing. The Full moon happens this weekend and the weather should change around enough to give us a good bite. Gandy Bridge is having a Good Spanish Mack Bite and most of the flats have trout and redfish on them. Under the Howard Franklin bridge there was a good Black Drum bite on live jumbo shrimp on the bottom.

The flats off Ft. Desoto and Dunedin Causeway were having a good turn-out of Trout and Reds. Snook have also been hitting good in the early morning and early evening on the turn of tides.

Tight Lines

Gas Prices and Fishing.

We all know what it costs to fill our boats and with the prices increasing it's hard not to really notice it when we do. I personally have a 100Ga tank. 3/mtg. I found this and thought it might be useful.

Boat Gas Saving Tips
1. Be sure the automatic choke is disengaged after engine warm up... chokes often get stuck, resulting in bad gas/air mixture.

2. Buy gasoline during coolest time of day - early morning or late evening is best. During these times gasoline is densest. Keep in mind - gas pumps measure volumes of gasoline, not densities of fuel concentration. You are charged according to "volume of measurement".

3. Choose type and brand of gasoline carefully. Certain brands provide you with greater economy because of better quality. Use the brands which "seem" most beneficial.

4. Fill your Tank up and keep it full. Evaporation happens when there is a lot of air in the tank. The more air the more evaporation.

5. Regular tune-ups ensure best economy; check owner's manual for recommended maintenance intervals. Special attention should be given to maintaining clean air filters... diminished air flow increases gas waste.

6. Remove vinyl tops - they cause air drag. Rough surfaces disturb otherwise smooth air flow around your boat's body. Also be aware of anything that may hinder the smooth movement of your boat through the water.

7. Remove excess weight from your boat make sure you have what you need and all your safety equipment but remember the less weight you have onboard the less weight you have to push through the water.

8. Fill Your tank to the top and if friends are riding with you go to the pump AFTER your trip and split the fuel equally.

After the Weekend

Fishing was great this past weekend and alot of people have given me reports on whats biting.

Trout and Spanish Macks have been termendous off the Gandy Piers. Hitting anything shiny and live shrimp have been producing better then average.

It looks like around some of the markers near the Skyway have been seeing Kingfish hitting live greenbacks and some very good Spanish Mack action as well.

The flats have been giving us a mixed bag and inshore slams are common this time of year. Snook are hitting near the mangroves, the Reds are hovering over the Oyster Beds and the Trout are haunting the grass flats.

This cold front coming through will turn things off but I'm betting that the upcoming full moon will turn the fish on after the cold front moves through by Friday and Saturday we should see a feeding frenzy that will give us all a good fishing weekend again.

One other report was that the Shrimp are moving into the normal pattern and if your wanting to try some good Shrimping they seem to be in with a report of over 4 dozen by one of my experienced buddies netting them up.

Tight Lines.

Inshore Slam At Double Branch

Nothing beats that quit early morning calm right before the sun comes up. We hit the mouth of double branch at the exavt time the tide turned around to an incoming. The pollen on the water showed us right where the Fast and Slack areas were and a "Bagley's Jumping Finger Mullet" a great top water bait gave us a couple of the largest swirls and two LARGE hook ups from these snook. Then Finally we put one in the boat. The wind picked up a little then we switched to a Silver/Blue Rattle Trap and hooked a 20+ RedFish. It seemed that the bite slowed so we trolled around the mouth area and finally found some persistent trout that would not leave the top waters alone. An inshore slam right before this upcoming front was a great start to the weekend. We Explored a few other areas and found a couple spots that looked "fishy" but by about 8:30 the rest of the fisherman had showed up and we were already headed back. 5-8 boats in the mouth of double branch makes for a busy area.

Other fish around the area biting are Macks at the bridges and bay waters. Kingfish offshore and some good in the bay fishing is being had over any of the grassy flats for schooling Reds and Trout.

Tight Lines.

Fishing at the Gandy Bridge

Fishing has really picked up with the weather and this weekend should be great. The Spanish Macks are hitting any thing flashy and if your planning to fish this weekend or anytime this week the weather should be good and the fishing should be excellent.

If your hitting Gandy bridge pier check out

Gandy Bait & Tackle
4923 Gandy Blvd. Tampa, FL 33611. Phone:(813) 839-5551

Fishing is Really picking up

Captain Jason Prieto is offering a $50 discount on all 6 and 8hr charters booked thru May 15th.

Mention that you saw this ad on TampaBayFish.com! I received the personal E-mail and he said he was giving a discount if you mentioned the e-mail but hey he may not HAVE your e-mail address so ask him if you read it on TampaBayFish.com if he will put you on his e-mail list.

Captain Prieto has a new radio show and he hopes everyone will listen and call in.

The fishing has been great, we have been catching lots of Snook and Redfish with Trout not far behind. The Tarpon are Starting to show up in good numbers. I also wanted to let everyone know about my new radio show on 860 WGUL AM. Its called Outdoor Fishing Adventures and we talk about anything that has to do with fishing and then some. We also give away a free Tica rod and reel every week to our callers so feel free to call in and talk fishing with us the call in number is 813-289-1860 or Toll free 877-969-8600 . It on every Saturday from 7AM to 9Am on 860 WGUL AM or you can listen live on 860wgul.com. Give me a call and mention this ad to get the special offer!!813-727-9890


Thanks
Captain Jason Prieto
Cell # 813-727-9890
www.steadyactionfishingcharters.com
Steady Action Fishing Charters
Co Host
Outdoor Fishing Adventures
860WGUL AM rafio 7AM to 9AM
Outdoor Writer
Florida Outdoor Adventures
Florida Marine Times

Finding Shrimp Near Tampa

The Tampa Area is great for finding Shrimp. Sometimes not the largest and sometimes not the sheer numbers as other areas but they are here and many people do not realize it. I regularly post information when myself and my friends head out on my Web Site tampabayfish.com

Currently what you want to look for is a nice calf to knee high deep wading area that has a nice grassy bottom. Some of the bext places that we have found are here and here

The next thing you need is a way to see the Shrimp A nice LED Head lamp works great. White is ok but we find that a RED light actually helps see the eyes a little better. This headlamp is great and Cheap but does the job

The next thing you need is a good Shrimp Net or The "Ozello Shrimper" I recommend the "Ozello Shrimper"! I've used a Net and I've used the "Ozello Shrimper" and it catches double the number of shrimp then a Net.

The reason is because the "Ozello Shrimper" comes down on top of the Shrimp and if the shrimp get spooked they shoot right into it. A net on the other hand comes in from below and if the shrimp gets spooked he "teleports" right out of your net about 5-10 ft away. and if you haven't seen them "teleport" then you haven't been shrimping.

Well Our season here in the Tampa area will really kick off about the last week in April and Last until about the first Week in July. Hopefully this will help everyone "Find Shrimp Near Tampa" and if you do find some and would like to send Pictures Remember "Ozello Shrimper" has a contest running so send him your pics and Also send them to Me at [url]TampaBayFish.com[/url]and I will post them on my weekly pics.

TampaBayFish
http://www.tampabayfish.com
"Google's #1 'Tampa Fishing' Web site".

Capt. Bill Miller and Capt. Mel Berman Tomorrow Night

Tomorrow night be at Precision Toyota, 1101 E. Fletcher Avenue in Tampa , Wednesday, from 7-9 pm. will be hosting a fishing conversation for 2 hours. This is a good chance to talk fishing with a few of the prominent and well known fishing people in Tampa.