Tuesday was much improved from the last few days. I changed gears and traveled to the Ruskin / Apollo Beach areas. Today's angler Ricky from Boston had 4 snook on his first four casts. Fly lining small white baits worked best, bigger baits were left unmolested. The water was cooler than lower Tampa Bay flats; I firmly believe that positively impacted our results.
The tail end of the incoming tide proved best for snook and redfish. Focusing on deeper, cooler water was key. Snook were holding very tight to the mangroves, if you got your bait within a few inches of the shady overhangs you were quickly rewarded. Cast left several feet away would result in a jack or ladyfish. We scored spotted sea trout on lush grass flats with clean water. Ricky scored the Tampa Bay Slam. As we drifted the flats we found mackerel on the same areas as the trout. Adding a float keeping the bait out of the grass resulted in even quicker action. Wanting to get Ricky on the Bonita action was our next target. The recent heat wave has changed the Bonita action from fast and furious to slow. Up in the tower I quickly spotted a school of Bonita gorging on glass minnows. A silver Clark spoon tossed into the frenzy resulted in an instant hookup. The line screamed off the reel then the Bonita ran back at the boat as fast as it ran away. Several runs later Ricky was all smiles showing off his 10 pound Bonita. As quick as we found Bonita they were gone. Look for these pelagic speedsters to return in masses.
Mix in mackerel, snapper, jacks, ladyfish and 3 spine snook for a total of 9 species and you see just how much West central Florida has to offer. Once again the weather was much above normal with highs in the low 90's all full 5 degrees above normal. Look for a big change this weekend with lows in the lower 60's. Look for the action to improve with cooler water in the days to come.
Capt. Steven
