Make no mistake its summer on lower Tampa Bay with water temperatures in the mid 80's. At 530 am while gathering bait the air temps were already in the 80's. October cant come soon enough!
Today's trip was about keeping the rods bent for Jack and his son Jack visiting from Chicago. We started the day looking for trout in swash channels near the beach. These area have been holding good numbers of trout and snook. Casting live white baits up current and allowing them to drift naturally just wasn't working today. Amazing how things can change overnight.
Plan B…I headed to a nearby grass flat. Luckily the fish gods cooperated and the rods began to bend. We had a mix of trout and ladyfish and jacks. Once again we were fishing deep 5-7' looking for cooler water. The fun lasted 30minutes then abruptly stopped.
Plan C…Next up another deep grass flat that's been covered in small bait the last week. First bait in resulted in a solid 16" trout. It was game on with Trout, Jacks, Mackerel and Ladyfish. I added fuel to the fire with constant chumming of small white baits which keep the fish fire up.
Captain Steven Markovich
