Most of the fish caught this last month had actually been caught on dead cut bait. It seems the snook have been hungry after the long cold winter and are trying to fatten up.

In the mix have been a few redfish but the bite in the areas I have been fishing has not been what I would like. Trout are still around and can be caught drifting the edges of some of the deeper grass flats.

Tarpon are also showing up and I will soon be targeting them when they get to the areas I like to target. Spanish mackerel are here and can be caught buy setting up a nice chum line and using long shank hooks,and live sardines for bait.

Here are a couple of snook pictures from a recent charter.

As we really get into the month of may and the bait gets thicker I only expect the fish to be really going off!

Thanks for checking my reports and keep checking back for more.

Capt. Steve

My last trip out was a scouting mission. I have a Redfish tournament to fish a week from now so Redfish have been on my mind. I found some nice fish but not in the quantities I would like. Of course I did not make to far of a run from the tournament launch site so I did limit myself a bit. Not to worry my partner will also be out this coming week looking. We have a huge school we can fish tournament day we just like to have more than one option.

On our scouting mission I also found some good numbers of snook. This was an exciting thing to see as our snook suffered a big hit during this past winters freezing temps.

Snook

The big Black Drum I reported on a couple of weeks ago are also still in the area. I will be taking my wife this weekend for her chance to land one.

Big Black Drum

I have had several other captains give me some good reports of  Spanish Mackerel showing up. One of my sources told me his clients put six in the box and they were fishing in the very north end of Tampa Bay. This kind of news really gets me fired up!

Grouper season just opened up and on the first day a good friend of mine made it a point to get out and get a couple for dinner in the shallow waters of the bay.

Tarpon have been sighted already. I am really liking this! If you have never done battle with the Silver King you may want to think about booking a Tarpon Charter.

Spring is here according to my wife and the fish. So get out and get after them. I know I will.

Gag Grouper

Mackerel

Thanks for stopping by and keep checking back as I keep my reports up to date.

Capt. Steve Betz

Today my guest were Ted and Charlie from Michigan. These guys had me excited before we ever left the dock. They had been fishing the day before from some docks on Tampa Bay. They were telling me of their catch and what it included. One of the fish they caught was a Spanish Mackerel. That got me all fired up! These fish are a pelagic species and just hear of one caught told me the spring run is near. Trust me when they show up in force I will be one of the first to have a report up. I love these fish. Not just because they can make some good table fare,but they can also test out some light tackle with some drag ripping runs. Stay tuned for that report.

Ted and Charlie did not care to tangle with the Black Drum I had been catching but wanted a drum of a different kind. We went to an area that I knew was holding fish and after making a few adjustments Charlie got hooked up with a nice fish. Unfortunately the fish came unglued! We waited it out but a Kayaker and a couple of other boats created some unwanted pressure and the fish shut down. I made a run to try and put them on some trout and they did catch a few but not really the amount I would of like to see. A few more move produced nothing. I really thought the bite would of been a little better but hey,its fishing. I can find them but can not always make them eat.

Time was slipping away and I knew Ted had a schedule. I asked him he he could spend a little extra time out so I could try and get them the redfish they wanted. He agreed they could stay a little longer.

To make along story short I found the fish again. After setting up Charlie was first to hook up. He got a nice 25″ redfish,then Ted hooked up. He had a real bulldog on and once landed it measured just under 27″. We tried for a little while longer but the guy in the Kayak came back and with his extra pressure it drove the reds deep under the bushes.

Ted and Charlie display their Tampa Bay Redfish

Black Drum

Big Black Drum are invading Tampa Bay. When I say big I mean in the 30 to 40 pound class. When this happens I know things are going to change for the good. Not far behind them will be the Tarpon,Sharks ,Spanish mackerel and other spring and summer species.

It has been a long cold winter and this is a welcome change. To welcome the change I invited a couple of good fishing buddies of mine to come along today and scout it out for some of these large drum I had been hearing about. It was almost a no go trip as the weather man was making some predictions I did not feel good about. I went with my gut and proved the weather man to be wrong. The 12 mile run to the area I was told they may be was flat and smooth. Myself ,Jay and Loren could actually have a conversation and enjoy the ride. I love these days.

We arrived in the area and started searching. It did not take long and Loren was hooked up with the first Drum of the morning. After a battle that lasted about 15 minutes Loren landed one that was right around 30 pounds.

I revived and released the fish and it was time to get back to business. I was next up with a nice one on. These fish will really test your equipment. This battle seemed to go on forever but I eventually landed the beast! He was somewhere in the 40 pound class.

Another Black Drum

We worked the area for a time and put a couple of more drum to the boat. These fish are a blast to catch on flats gear. We are talking spinning reels and rods I would use for Reds ,snook and trout on the flats. Most of those don’t go over 10 pounds. With these drum showing up I know it is only a prelude of how good the fishing is going to get.

Thanks for stopping by to read the reports.

Capt. Steve Betz

This Black Drum was over 40 pounds!

On Saturday I had a group of three guys from Ohio. Eric,Mike and M were a pleasure to have on the boat and there friendly banter made for some laughs. The fishing ended up being much better than it had been. I took the guys to some residential canals as I felt they would provide the best action. This first stop would produce lady fish and the guys had know problem after some short instructions casting and getting the retrieve down. I did not keep a tally but I guess they landed over 20 or so of them.

Lady fish

At times the action could get a little intense as the Pelicans are very hungry right now and they would try and grab the fish off the hook. This made for one close call of a Pelican getting hooked but between Eric and I we were able to free the bird uninjured.

On our next stop we worked another canal. This one would hold trout today. The water temp had come up just two degrees and this seemed to turn the fish on. The lure presentation was a bit different this time. But once again the guys caught on and caught around 25 trout. If they would of been keeping fish to eat they would of easily had there limits but all fish were released for future guest.

Eric w/ trout

M w/ trout

On Sunday morning I woke and got ready to head out. I was a little concerned when I got in the truck and I had ice on the windshield. In the back of my mind I could only think how this may have a bad effect on the fishing. I had no choice other than head to the ramp as my guest for this day Ed and Dennis were driving from Sarasota. They were depending on me to put them on some fish.

I knew once again our best chance was going to be fishing the canals. The fish were in the same place I left them the day before but the water temp had dropped overnight so the fish were just not as eager to eat. Ed and Dennis had the jigging down but only managed to entice a few lady’s to eat.

Dennis working the area with a jig

The bite totally shut off so we made our move to the trout canal. The guys started off with the soft plastic jigs,but it was not going to happen this way. I removed the soft plastic and and threaded a live shrimp onto the jig head. This combined with crawling the baits slowly across the bottom got the bite. In all honesty the action was very slow and only a few trout were caught.

Sunday ended up being a little cooler out than Saturday. It was still clear sunny skies but it just wasnt enough to warm the water.

Ed w/ trout

For the next week the weather is supposed to be pretty nice with temps in the 70’s. We have another front coming through but its supposed to be a mild one. Spring is supposed to begin on the 20th of the month. It can not come soon enough.

Don’t forget to check back . I will keep posting up the reports no matter how good or bad.

The residential canals have been a good place to get some shelter from the chilly winds. Water temps are still in the mid 50s so the fish are still a little sluggish on the bite but seem to be getting a little more aggressive. I think this may be due to the lack of bait around the bay so these fish are really getting hungry.

Notice the 55 degree water temp

The bait used on our recent outings has varied between live shrimp and a mix of artificial soft plastic baits.  Live shrimp on a 2/0 light circle hook with a small split shot about a foot up the 20 lb floro leader has been producing well and is a great choice for the angler who mostly wants to just cast,sit back and feel the bite.

Soft plastic artificial  on the other hand have produced well in different colors. Mostly we have been pairing either the Hybrids Flurry or the DOA Cal with a 1/4 oz jig head.  Casting out and letting it drop to the bottom then slowly jigging it back has produced the best strikes.

The Hybrid Flurry in assorted colors

The fish seem to be concentrated mostly in the middle of the canals with some hanging near the edges of the drop offs soaking up the warmth of the sun.

Trout caught on a DOA Cal ,pearl with chart tail

Bringing one to the boat,Spotted Sea trout

Most of the fish we are catch have been in the 17 to 20 inch keeper size range. Spotted sea trout make great table fare so you can look forward to taking some home for dinner.

Trout have been the story as of late but with some warming temps soon to come this should change. I am really hoping that March will be a new story and some of our other species will be coming to life. Its been a brutal winter so all we can hope for is that mother nature is going to show us some love soon.

Good friend Capt. Steve Nagy from Bonita Springs

Spotted Seatrout are very tasty and they can be prepared using many different methods. I prefer to fillet them and either season ,lightly batter and fry or season,coat with butter,drizzle with lime juice and broil. Silver trout tend to be to small to actually fillet so I like to scale them,gut them,cut the heads off and season,beer batter and deep fry them.

Catching both species can be a challenge. I have been finding most of the spotted seatrout in deeper creeks and canals about 3 to 6 feet. Fishing with a live shrimp,weighted with a small split shot on some 15 # test leader seems to get the best bite.

The silvers are a totally different game. Silvers tend to huddle up in the deep channels of  Tampa Bay from 15 to 35 feet deep. The method I like to use to target them is to first locate them on my bottom machine. Once found I anchor up and basically vertical jig for them. Using a 1/4 to 1/2 oz jig head baited with a soft plastic (color can vary) I will vertically jig it up and down in the water column to entice the bite. Once you get on these fish it can be one after another. I have had days when all things worked out and caught over a hundred silvers in just a couple of hours.

Now is a great time to target both species and put some tasty fish in the cooler. My personal opinion is that the cooler winter waters produce tastier trout.

Spotted Seatrout

Silver Trout

I picked them up at 9:30 am and we headed to our first destination. After the last two days of scouting I figured the fishing was going to be a little slow. The first couple of stops were proving me right as they only produced a couple of trout.

I told the guys we had to make another move so off we went. This next spot would prove me wrong. Derek had the first bait in the water and it was fish on. He came up with a small redfish. Richard hadn’t figured out the sweet spot yet so Derek proceeded to school him. It didn’t take long and Richard was in the game. They caught about 15 red’s when they quit biting.

I made another move and this is where we stayed while they caught about another 60 redfish! It was one after another with double hooks ups being the norm. Even though these fish were not huge they were beautiful with Derek catching one with 10 spots total. That fish could of been a contender in a redfish spot tournament.

We used shrimp today and that made all the difference. I had sardine’s but only a few fish were caught on those.

Don’t forget to check back as I will be posting updated reports of whats happening in Tampa Bay.

Until then Happy Holidays!

This is an email I received from Richard after his charter with me.

Captain Steve, I wanted to thank you for making today a memorable fishing trip.  Sometimes it’s not how many fish you put in the cooler but the experiences and memories you have of a great day on the water.  Derek and I had a great time!

I looked at your web site and it looks great.  Good job!  The fishing report for 12.23.09 is also great!

Thanks again for a memorable trip.

Have a great Christmas.

Richard