Fishing is Heating up

I've had some web hosting troubles but things have been corrected and it looks promising out on the water. Things have been reported to be heating up. My buddy was out the other morning and literally 5 minutes after putting his kayak in the water he was hooked up with a nice redfish. It seems they are sitting in the shallows and haunting some of the creek edges. I have also moved and live up near Pasco so my information may target some new areas. Look for new reports soon.

Big Redfish - Spring is Hot

Well Spring fishing seems to be really picking up. Here is Tim with a huge Red.

I havent been able to get out on the water much my Job has kept me on the road However I do know that the fishing has really been good so far this spring.

Saturday Fishiing Philippe Park

It was a windy afternoon (4:30pm), there was a minor front moving in and it was suppose to bring rain Sunday so the winds were up a little over 15knts. They were out of the southwest and we thought that Philippe Park (Map Link) might be a good protected area. As you can see from the picture the waves were a little large for Kayaks, But they weren't bad enough to keep us off the water and the water was very warm.

It looked a little nicer from shore than it actually was. We launched right from one of the pull overs towards the south end of the park. and fished from creek mouth south about 200-300 yards. The mangroves were nicely covered with water.

Tim caught the first fish of the day a nice 18" Redfish. The water was pushed way up and we hit the place right at high tide and the mangroves were in the water and the treeline was flooded. With the murky water conditions we though that it might be best to use White Soft Jigs. I used a New Penny color and Tim was using solid white.

We caught a few more fish a couple of trout and some Ladyfish and as you can see Tim's catches of Redfish were right up in the Mangrove shallows. the water was about 2ft deep here and is normally less than 6 inches.
The wind isn't always your enemy as a matter of fact a nice South wind is a great thing in the upper Tampa Bay area where the water can be pushed into places that it normally isn't and the fish are there too.

Update to Redfish and Trout Regulation Changes

Image is for reference and accuracy purposes.

My good fishing buddy Tim let me know that the fishing area designated as the Northwest region includes all of the water NORTH of the Howard Park Causeway. This is actually good news for those fishing that area. It means that two Redfish per person or 6 Per vessel can be kept if you are on the North Side of Howard Park Cause way. See the picture which comes straight from the Florida Wildlife Commission Website which shows the demarcation line between North and South regions. To read more see the new release here.

NEW Fishing Report from Capt. Rob Salimbene Mangrove Man Charters www.mangroveman.com

Capt. Rob, reports.
Date: 23-24 April 2011 from http://www.mangroveman.com/

What is Biting: Redfish have really turned on this past week and should begin schooling up in large numbers within the next few weeks. I have been targeting reds around oyster bars and deep mangrove shorelines during the higher tide stages. The last two hours of the incoming tide and the first two hours of the outgoing tide have been producing very well. Most of the fish have come on cutbait, with fresh cut threadfin hearing being the best by far, however live shrimp or greenbacks have also been catching their fare share.

Snook have also continued to improve this past week. I have been fishing the south shore of Tampa Bay, basically from Miguel Bay (MAP LINK) to the Little Manatee River working the outside grass flats and passes. Find moving water with a deeper mangrove edge and some baitfish and Snook are bound to be in the surrounding area. The best bait has been live greenbacks, but live shrimp or the Mirrolure Mirrodine in the greenback color will also trigger strikes.

Lastly, Spanish Mackeral are swarming the entire bay area. This past weekend while Tarpon fishing, we were having difficulty keeping baits in the water due to the Spanish Mackeral that were tearing our baits and leaders to shreds. I like to target Mackeral with a live greenback rigged on a No.1 long shank hook connected to 40lb. fluorocarbon leader. Although you will get some bite-offs, I think you definitely get more bites and catch more fish with heavy flourocarbon leader rather than wire. The fish we have been catching are averaging 18 to 20 inches and we have been catching 20 to 30 per trip.

Source: Captain Rob Salimbene Mangrove Man Charters http://www.mangroveman.com/

Saturday and Sunday

Hit the water both days before sunrise. The water was perfect and the fishing was excellent. Dunedin/Caladesi Saturday was alive with fish. Redfish were everywhere except on my hook. Still working on finding that perfect bait for redfish. Caught plenty of trout though and many keepers but I'm not the biggest fan of Trout so I released em all. Sunday same thing except I headed down towards Ft. Desoto and Turtle Key area, even hooked a few redfish but I don't think I set my hook good enough so had them on long enough to see them and have them spit the hook. Gonna try again next weekend and see if my luck improves. The fishing is great this time of year and we should see only better fishing as this nice spring weather really kicks in. I did talk to a few guys that said they were catching Redfish from the shore on cut bait though so I may have to give that a try.

Spring Fishing is Great

Made it out on the water Saturday and Sunday, both days just fantastic weather wise and fishing also. Saturday we hit Sunset park area near Tarpon Springs. The Flats were alive with Big Reds roaming the flats mixed in with the schools of Mullet and The trout were everywhere on the grass and hitting anything that looked interesting. Top water seemed to be there favorit target. Sunday we hit the North East side of Courtney Campbell Causeway and Howard Frankin in the flats that are near the highway. The Trout were intermingled with Thousands of Lady Fish and an occasional Spanish Mack was sprinkled in to the catch. Every Cast using small White or Gold jigs worked the best and each cast was a hook up and you just had to wait to get it to the boat to see what it was. The only reason we stopped was because our arms got tired of reeling in the fish after about 4 hours of fishing.

Cold weather Report

With the water being pretty chilly the fish are slow but not scarce. Best bet is to go later in the day when the sun has had a chance to warm the water a little Soon warmer weather is on its way it won't be long until we have some great spring fishing action. In the meantime. Here are a few places that may produce. One is the beach areas along phillippe park in Safety Harbor, the water is shallow and the sandy bottom heats up rather quickly. If you hit the area before evening rolls around you may find some reds cruising along the mangroves when the tide is up.
          Near the Dunedin Causeway and the flats north towards Anclote are holding Trout but they seem to be in the 5-7ft range and are hitting slower moving jerked softbaits. Try this area when the sun is high in the sky so between 11-3pm is your best bet.
          Hopefully everyone has had enough winter and are ready to get back to some fishing weather. I will update my hotspots if I hear of anything good biting. The local paper is reporting large Sheepshead moving around in the Bay BUT I have never had much luck finding or catching them so for those of you that have the skills to do it that may be an option.
-- Tghtlines

FULL Moon Weekend - Tarpon Trout and Pompano

Depending on what your fishing for you are in luck this weekend since it is a full moon weekend there will be a lot of fish wanting to eat. Tarpon on all the Bay Bridges, and on the outside beaches from Egmont to Anclote. Trout on the Flats, Redfish up in the mangroves on High Tide, Snook on the Beaches, Snapper in the Shipping channels and deeper bridge cuts, Pompano along Howard Franklin and Gandy bridges. IF thats not enough then the Shark Fishing should be good as well. I myself will be trying along the Anclote Key beaches and the Honeymoon beaches for Tarpon. Hopefully I can find em and cast to em and we should be able to hook up. Remember the Early mornings and evenings are going to be your best bites BUT the fishing has been outstanding lately and even the heat is keeping the fish from biting.

Early Tarpon Reports, Redfish Hangin out.

I have heard from a few captains that the Tarpon are already here, and with the weather warming up like it has and the water following suit I believe it shouldn't be much longer before the bridges are a good place to find em rolling. Redfish seem to be hanging out on the flats and the early morning and evening should be your best bets. If your wanting to stay out after the heat hits by midday find the beaches and look for tarpon. Remember those lady fish can be good bait so bag one or two and freeze em up for the next trip out.

Redfish Action is HOT in the Tampa Area

Just about every flat is holding Redfish right now. If you think you are going fishing this weekend at all. LOOK AT THE TIDES and hit the water at High Tide and find a Nice Flat to Drift accross.....My Favorite, GULP SHRIMP "New Penny" or "White" are excellent choices for Redfish this weekend. you can't go wrong if you are out there the fish are there too....Check out my Map for more places and exact locations.

REDFISH - IN abundance

It seems the Redfish are making an appearance. The warm weather got them feeding and it seems in Cockroach Bay they have been schooling and hitting anything thrown at them. Also around Ft. Desoto reports have been good of schools and biting redfish. This is great news and hopefully it continues. BUT with the cool front moving through we may see a slight slow down BUT hold onto your hats cause it seems with the Warm Weather on its way fishing could be Heating up....LOL literally. look for early morning reds and early evening reds to be some of your best bets Although with the water getting to it's max in the middle of the day the Bite even in the heat of the day should continue to be good for a while.

Trout and Reds near Dunedin

The trout are hitting regularly and the reds are following. This weekend should be good for the Trout off Dunedin causeway. Live shrimp or Gulp swim baits seem to be the favorite.

Redfish and Snook Weedon Island

Received an update on the state of Weedon Island fishing this past weekend. Redfish and Snook were all over the flats there and were taking just about any gulp bait thrown at them. A 35inch Redfish and a 29inch Snook were the highlights and Both are still out there swimming around. The keeper redfish were plenty. All in all about 30+ fish caught between two guys wading the flats.