Tampa Bay's grand slam a Snook Redfish and Trout. Saturday morning's trip achieving the Slam. The winds had picked up so we looked for protected waters for bait. Scaled sardines (whitebait) are our number one choice and are now abundant on the grass flats in lower Tampa Bay. Chumming is a must and can be as easy as opening a can of Jack Mackerel. Toss quarter size chunks until the bait arrives. Be patient this may take 5-10 minutes. If you can set up on the edge of a sandy hole as to keep the net and your deck clean of grass.
With the winds blowing upwards of 15 mph I choose to keep my charter protected and dry but in prime area for snook, redfish and trout. My home marina O'Neill's is located ideally for just these type days. Ft. Desoto, Tierra Verde is home to many species.
Tossing baits up under the mangroves was the ticket. We quickly got in the action, our first stop we found trout and jacks. On the same stretch of mangroves maybe 200 yards west we scored snook, grouper and flounder. Another short move and we found redfish working sandy potholes in 2' of water. All this action and a grand slam on a 4 hour charter.
We fly lined baits in the mangroves and added a float when chasing redfish to keep the bait out of the turtle grass.
Capt. Steven
