Fishing Reports by Captain C.A. Richardson
About The Author: Captain
Company: Flats Class Charters
Area Reporting: St. Pete/Clearwater/Tampa Bay
Bio: Born in Charleston, SC in 1965… C.A.'s family relocated to St. Petersburg in 1967 where he honed his angling skills on the beaches, piers, and inshore flats of Tampa Bay. In 2001, he started his popular "Flats Class" fishing school to compliment his Flats Class Charter business. The school traveled around the state educating anglers through C.A.'s unique power-point presentation and by featuring many local inshore pros. Years later in 2007, Flats Class TV debuted, with the help of Forrest Fox Productions, and was an instant hit with anglers eager to learn from the pros! He has gained the reputation over the years as "the inshore guide" to hire when it comes to artificial techniques on the west coast of Florida and still spends over 200 days a year on the water with his clients & filming Flats Class TV.
[St. Petersburg,FL] This time of year I have my eyes trained on my Raymarine's temperature reading... it tells me where I should concentrate my efforts. With this last blast of arctic air the water temps plummeted about 6 to 8 degrees on average making the everyday bite a little tougher to find!
[St. Petersburg,FL] When the cold north winds blow... tucking into the residential canal systems can be the difference between catching fish or striking out!
[St. Petersburg,FL] Just before each cold front passes by... anglers can take advantage of a great bite. Lately my Flats Class Charters have had to tuck into residential canals and creeks because of the blustery wind but there is great rod bending action in these areas.
[St. Petersburg,FL] Fishing is about to change this week with an approaching big cold front but the right approach will still get a few quality bites! Here's the skinny... slow down the presentation tempo and you'll get more bites.
[St. Petersburg,FL] The reds have been scattered but for those anglers willing to power fish big mullet schools success is a snap!