Fishing Report from Website

Joshua Taylor from "SaltyScales.com" www.saltyscales.com sent this fishing report.
"The fishing has been epic in the Tampa Bay with the big linesider reds and snook cooperating on all levels of the tide. The best action has been on the flood tides around the new and full moon, fishing the Southshore with artificial, live and cut baits. Early am try live bait or top water, as the sun rises switch to cut bait. The water heats up in the middle of the day and the fish become lethargic. Look for deep cuts in the mangroves and try and find areas with minimal boat traffic. Lord knows that the fish are extremely pressured. We have been doing really well with the Zara puppy early. For my complete report please be sure to visit www.saltyscales.com."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks Joshua I know what your talking about the past two weekends have been great we have been hitting the flats in the kayak and finding many Reds and Lots of Snook wanting to be caught. Early in the morning has been key and we have been out before sunup and off the water before 10am.

Excellent SNOOK

Ms. Maryann Schaefer, caught this beautiful SNOOK and to make things better it was the first one she has ever caught. Congrats and thanks for the Picture.
Maryann Said thanks to Capt. Jay Schroeder for the catch.
Tightlines Maryann and hope to see more like this.

Jason Prieto is Making a Special Offer

Every once in a while I run accross a good deal that one of the Charter Captains I have listed on my site has going on Here is one of those deals.

Forward of an Email Advertisement
Spring Fishing Almost Here!

captjasonp@aol.com
Spring fishing is almost here and booking early is the key to getting the date of your choice. We are already seeing a warming trend and I look for it to continue as we go into February. With warm weather comes great Trout, Snook, and Redfish fishing in Tampa Bay. To book a trip call

813-727-9890

Take advantage of our early booking special!

Book a 6 hr fishing trip for the price of a 4 hr. This means you get 2 more hours for free. This offer will be good until February 15th. As long as you book the trip before then you will get the discount. It does not matter when you run the trip! Take advantage of these big savings and get out on the prestine waters of Tampa Bay!

Beach Snook

The Snook have moved to the beaches. This 33incher was just hangin about 15ft from shore in strong moving outgoing tide. A Chartruese 1/2oz DOA Jig head and a White Gulp Shrimp brought him in. Just before sunrise off the north beach on Anclote Island. The offshore we did was good but no keeper grouper. However friends that went out hit the Kings about 10 miles out and Grouper on some of the deeper reefs.

Early Sunday Kayak fishing

Hit the water by 5:50am Sunday morning and heade out of our favorite Anclote spot. Early morning and calm water combined to make a great day of fishing. Caught and released 3 Snook all undersized between 15-18 inches but very healthy. Hooked a Black Drum about 5 lbs got him to the kayak and he released himself. Also had a swipe at my top water by one of the largest Red fish I think I have ever seen inshore. Looked like a man in a fish suit he was so big. Heard reports that the reds weren't out on the flats and that people were having a hard time finding them. They are very tricky to find and when you catch one the rest will scatter. Keep an eye out for Mullet and you should find Trout and Reds hanging around with the. Try a Gulp Shrimp rigged with NO WEIGHT and drop it to the bottom and jerk it through the grass or off the top of the grass. You'll probably cactch a lot of Trout but A few Reds will be there too.

HELP TRACK SNOOK IN OUR AREA

If you're a regular fisherman and you have been catching and releasing SNOOK. You can help FWC Biologists track and record our snook population. Just remember these details.
1. Where you caught the fish. (then go to google maps, find the location, Right click and say "whats here" it will show you decimal gps coordinates)
2. Measure the Fish.
3. RELEASE THE FISH (at least until September)
4. GOTO http://www.snookfoundation.org/data and enter your information.

VERY SIMPLE and its for a good cause.

Kayaks, Snook and some Redfish

Hit the water around 5pm up near anclote river and attempted to target some Redfish. But they weren't cooperating. We ended up catching a couple small Snook. This was actually a good thing being this far north we figured we would see a bad effect from the cold earlier in the year. The Snook were about 18-20 inches and they were strong and healthy. This is a good sign that the Snook population is still doing well and should come back strong. We did see a lot of Reds swimming the shallows even one that was swimming in such shallow water about 10 inches along his back was exposed and he just kept swimming along.

Kayaks near Anclote River, Spanish Macks in the Bay. Snook here but still tired

Hit the water during the week and along the banks of a Small Salwater Lake off the Anclote river we found the Snook and Small Reds were very active. Hitting just about any top water or small swimming lure we through at them Hooked up 4 times and landed about a 29" Snook. She came up slow snapped the line next to the Kayak and laid there waiting for me to pick her up and take the hook out. She was BEAT jumped 3 times and came to the boat. I got the hooks out with no damage to her and towed her behind the kayak to get the oxygen flowing. She bit my finger and flipped her tail and was gone. other fish were active in the small eddies near the shore and tide currents.
   Another Tip was in the bay near Gandy Bridge the Spanish Macks were out in force over the weekend. Trailing behind large schools of glass minnows and other small bait schools. Anything Shiny and darting was a good bet. Easy to land about 10-15 in as many minutes. Bait seems to be all over in the shallows and across the bay. The cold doesn't seemt o have affected them much. Bad thing is walking the shoreline you can see the reminders of the cold on the Snook. Snook Skull bones were plentiful in the upper bay along the shores.

FWC Announces Snook Season Closure

FWC Announced that the Spring Snook Season will not take place. This means that Snook Season will remain closed until 1 Sept 2010. Catch and Release only. On the other hand Trout seem to be the hardy fish in this cold weather, if you can get out there a good bet is a DOA or Live Shrimp under a popping cork. If you find fish and they are not eating move to another area and maybe your luck will be better. Leaving Fish to Find Fish is never a good idea but in the cold weather and shock to the ecosystem we have had it may be your best bet to catch fish.

Fall Fishing in the Tampa Area

After a few outings in the kayaks I have to say fall is one of my favorite times to fish. The snook are very active knowing that the weather is changing and the water temps are moving all the fish around letting them know its time to eat. Look for the Redfish to be moving across the flats on high tide feeding near the mangroves, the Snook to be moving into the winter haunts in the upper creeks and areas where the water will warm during the day, and well the trout will be active all winter across a lot of the grass flat areas. The offshore should pick up also with some of the mangroves and grouper moving into the closer reefs. Remember to BUY AN EPIRB. Or at least ask Santa for one. It can save your life!!!

OCTOBER Fishing should Be Fantastic

October, the weather starts to cool the fish start feeding heavily there is a change of season adn movement in all the fishing areas. It looks like the beaches should be gettign prowled by some large Snook and Spanish Macks and the shorelines of Tampa Bay, South Shore, Phillipe Park and the like should see an increase in Redfish and Snook action with live and cut bait. Don't forget the fish are hungry and the change in the seasons is making them move from their summer hideouts transitioning to their winter haunts. This whole month should be fantastic.

Weekend fishing should be picking up

With the small front that came through the fish should be moving around. Monday Night in our old channel I was able to hook a few snook and landed a 24 incher. Wednesday Night wading near Safety Harbor we saw a lot of hook up but were doing more exploring then fishing. looking for good spots to try at another time. The Kings should be offshore this weekend except the Wind is suppose to pick up so be careful. The Reds should be on some of the flats and the Snook should be coming out to the creek mouths.