Cayla Olinger, 8, of Seminole displays a sheepshead she reeled in May 12 at Long Bayou. According to her parents, Judy and Brian Olinger, Cayla loves to go fishing as much as possible. She can bait her hook and cast without any help, her dad said.
Hot water temperatures have all but shut down the shallow water inshore bite especially during the quarter moon phases.
The slower moving tides during these moon phases often don’t move enough water to spark a good bite. Targeting deeper structure and deeper grass flats will often be more effective.
Trout fishing has been good lately in areas such as Gulfport, Clearwater Harbor and St. Joseph’s Sound.
Target grassy areas with a lot of whiter sand holes in water 3 to 6 feet deep. Live pilchards work best but so will a D.O.A. shrimp or a Mirrolure Mirro-dine. Most of the trout we’re catching are of keeper size anywhere from 15 to 20 inches.
If you’re after redfish this weekend it might be time to start casting under some of the deeper docks near to some of your favorite redfish spots.
The shade provided by the docks will lower the water temp a couple of degrees and also attract baitfish.
Cast live pilchards or bounce jigs along the bottom; sometimes putting a small split shot on the line will help to get the bait into the redfish’s strike zone.
Pompano fishing has been good lately from some of the local piers and bridges. The best bite will often be the first hour of daylight or during peak tidal movement. Bounce Crazy jigs off the bottom along the down tide side of the structure.
Mangrove snapper fishing is good inshore as well as offshore.
Target artificial reefs and bridge pilings inside of Tampa Bay as well as the many reefs that range from 3 to 12 miles offshore of Pinellas County.
Downsizing your tackle is key for fooling the wary snappers, 20 to 30 pound flouro-carbon leaders and small No. 1 hooks are often needed to get bit.
Be sure to keep a fresh chum block out at all times, as well as cutting baitfish into small pieces and letting them flow down the water column to the fish.
Capt. Wallerstein can be reached at capt.tyson@hotmail.com. To get a fish photo in the paper, send the photo along with your name, when and where it was caught to Fish Tales, Tampa Bay Newspapers, 9911 Seminole Blvd., Seminole, FL 33772, or send an e-mail to editorial@tbnweekly.com.
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