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After one of the mildest winters in recent history, March served up some unseasonably cold weather, delivering two nights in the low forties during the last week of the month. Nevertheless, when working around the fronts, Tampa Fishing Guides found trout fishing exceptional. As the attached pictures will attest, this spring has continued to yeild more gator sized trout than any year in recent memory. Catching whitebait has been a tough proposition on numerous mornings but it has remained the key to catching both numerous and big trout. These trout continue to inhabit their usual haunts on local spoil islands and flats however, as is usually the case, the biggest trout are found alone...usually when fishing for redfish. It's almost as if these big fish would rather sit in a school of mullet or hang around the bigger redfish than remain in the company of their smaller brethren. Excepting the more regular surface boils, these big trout feel like a redfish when initially hooked. Tampa Fishing for trout should remain strong into May so for any angler looking to catch thier biggest trout ever, now is the time.
Redfishing has picked up noticeably in the last month but cold fronts have occassionally shut the fishing back down. With weather reports now FINALLY not threatening any more cold, Tampa Fishing Charters for redfish should experience more consistent action. Trips over the last two weeks have yeilded between 1 and 20 fish, depending on weather, tide phase etc.. Strong tides always make redfishing more productive so plan fishing days accordingly, targeting the most productive parts of the tide...dead low or the several hours around and including the high tide. Kayakers and extremely shallow draft boats will have success fishing potholes on incoming water...moving forward up onto the flat as the water fills new potholes. Doing this in conjunction with the movement of mullet can be very productive. Tampa Fishing guides know that, although a school of mullet does not necessarily contain redfish that, if there are redfish and mullet on the same flat, chances are they will be traveling together. Lobbing cut baits or shrimp into these progressing schools of mullet and letting them sit will uncover the presence of redfish. On the higher tides, the plan is to intercept redfish at their feeding stations...oyster bars, potholes closest to structure (oyster bars, spoil islands, mangroves etc.) and mangrove shorelines. Successful Tampa Fishing for redfish is about methodical persistence. Guides and recreational anglers alike who consistently catch redfish have a plan about where the redfish will be and then proceed to work these areas thorughly. It's important to remember a key fact about redfish when pursuing them. Now that the weather is warm, they will almost always eat a bait presented to them as long as they are not spooked. With this in mind, create a list of the spots that you want to fish based on tide, wind etc. Methodically fish each spot but do not stay anywhere too long until fish are located. There are only so many hours of good tide. Use this time proiductively. Favorite baits of Tampa Fishing Guides during the spring include a variety of cut baits, live pinfish and whitebaits. Shrinp will always work but don't last long in the warming, pinfish filled waters.
Had it not been for our recent blast of cold, spanish mackerel, kingfish, bonita, medium to large spinner and blacktip sharks and a number of other near shore predators would already be available a few miles off the beach. Illustrating this point is the attached kingfish pictiure from March 27th of last year. With that said, action will heat up literally any day. Look for east winds and clear near shore waters as the indication that it's time to head off the beach. The success of a Tampa Fishing Charter into these near shore waters is directly related the the volume of whitebait captured before departure. With a chum block and a couple thousand baits, rest assured that any fish in the neighborhood will find itself dining behind your boat in short order. Its the time of year that all local anglers wait for. Fishing is about to get very productive for a broad range of species. Good luck and good fishing.
This Fishing Report was submitted on 6/5/2013 11:10:25 PM by and last updated on 6/5/2013 11:10:25 PM.
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