Cooling Trends

Strong winds and a cold front kept me off the water the last 4 days. Friday morning Tampa Bay water checked in at 63 degrees down 10 degrees from last Saturday. Bait that had been solid on the flats off Weedon Island was scarce; we finally located bait holding on the deepest edges. With a very low tide this morning we decided to hit some of last year's trout spots. First stop we found 15-18' trout aggressively attacking small white baits and DOA Glo Shrimp. Second location was more of the same with several snook in the mix. As the day warmed tide moving in we moved onto into the mangrove shorelines. Snook and redfish locations that were very good a week ago now were a challenge. We took our best snook including one fish over 35' in the sandy potholes in slightly deeper water. Saturday's trip we found conditions similar. The winds were calmer and we headed to the Eastern shores of Tampa Bay. Bait was easier to find on the towers, the water was also 67 up 4 degrees from Friday. Tampa Bay is very shallow allowing water temperatures to drop or rise rapidly with the weather. Mackerel are thick across the bay and along the ship channels. We also found several large schools of 5 pound Jacks ready to do battle. If you have never caught a Jack you are in for a real surprise, while not great table fare they are impressive game fish. You will swear the 5 pound Jack felt like a much larger fish. Small Redfish 18-20'and Snook to 25' were once again in the deeper sandy potholes. Look for water temperatures to rise again this week with the daily temperatures around 80 with abundant sunshine.