Tampa Bay Fishing

Warm weather has the water temps on the rise and has the fish in Tampa Bay fishing is turned on. The Snook and Redfish have started to move out on the bay area flats and their spring hangouts and are actively feeding on whitebait. It’s now the end of March and the cold fronts are will no longer be a factor in are fishing.

Redfish

Redfish have been plentiful on the flats around the south shore and Weedon Island. You can find them on the low incoming tide out on the flats and as the tide moves in they beginning to move up along the mangroves. The best baits to use have been sardines, cut pinfish or ladyfish, and shrimp are always the most productive. For those of you that prefer to throw artificials a good old gold spoon or a 5inch gold flake jerkbait have been producing some good fish.

Snook

The snook bite is on fire right now on the incoming tide. I have been catching a lot of slot Snook and a ton of small Snook along the mangroves in Tampa Bay on charters. The best bait by far is whitebait, you don’t need to catch a ton of bait this time of year because you just don’t have to chum as hard to get the snook eating well.
The big Trout have moved in on the flats right now in 1-3 feet of water look for the bigger trout in the potholes on the flat. The smaller can still be found on deeper grass flats. With live shrimp being the best bait for them along with a sardine either free lined or under a popping cork is producing good numbers of fish.

Tip:

This time of year if you are making that long run down to the bridge to catch sardines and run back to your spot, you don’t need to catch a ton of bait this time of year because you just don’t have to chum as hard to get the snook eating well

Capt Jim Lemke charters out of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater and can be reached at (813) 917-4989 and at [email protected]

Tampa Fishing Report for January

The new year is here and that brings new Tampa fishing report also. The winter time fishing in the Tampa Bay area is in full swing. You can go out and catch plenty of redfish, trout, jacks, ladyfish, and a few snook still and its January how crazy is that. The winter time makes for some great action for both kids and adults. This is one of my favorite times to do my charter fishing in Tampa Bay because you have so many options on the way you want to fish.

What’s been hot on Tampa fishing charters:

The trout are all over every grass flat in 2 – 6 feet of water in Tampa Bay area. It’s better to fish them on the high tides on the grass flat and inside the creeks and channels on the low tides. The best baits to use are whitebait, live shrimp free-lined or under a cork or use artificials like DOA paddle or curly tails in a natural color on there jig heads from a 1/32 oz to a 1/4 oz. depending on the depth. A slow retrieval with an occasional twitch will produce the most hits.

Redfish schools are still all around the flats in 1 – 2 feet of water. When the water drops out these reds will move in to the deeper pot holes. I like to target redfish along the grass edges, pot holes or oyster bars using shrimp, artificials or fly.

With the warm weather this year the snook are in their winter haunts like the creeks and rivers in the bay area. But the Snook bite is still going in our area. It doesn’t matter if you are fishing the Little Manatee River or fishing Weedon Island the bite is on. The bite has been later in the day after the water has warmed up some as of this Tampa Fishing Report.

Capt Jim Lemke charters out of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater and can be reached at (813) 917-4989 and at [email protected].