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

I was not able to be out as long or late as I would of liked today because of some afternoon obligations. It did help to get out there as always.

The morning air was a brisk 43 degree’s as I made my way across Tampa Bay in search of bait. I found it where I left it the day before but it was not as plentiful. Not to worry I told my self as store bought shrimp are available and I will be sure to pick some up for tomorrow’s charter.

I made the long run to the power plant to see what was going on in the warm water out flow. Really not much. Mostly just a bunch of Cow Nose Rays milling around. I would of preferred an incoming tide for this area but I only had the time allotted to work with.

Back across the bay I went. With limited time left I checked a couple of other spots and as the day warmed things became a little more active. This is a good sign as overnight temps are not supposed to dip to low and tomorrow we should have temps in the 70s again.

I found a huge school of sheep’s head that will make for some lite tackle fun with some live shrimp. Lady fish were around and were attacking live bait and jigs. At the last stop I decided to chum it up real good. I was hoping the trout would be there I had found the day before but instead the snook had moved back in. I caught a couple of them but was out of time. I figure as the tide started to move better and the afternoon son warmed the water a bit they should really turn on.

Hopefully tomorrows plan of a later start and some warmer weather will make for a good bite.

I will let you know in my next report.

When we get these cold north winds it can make some drastic changes to the fishing over night. Finding bait to fish with and hungry fish to eat it can go from easy to impossible with a 5 degree drop in water temperature. Today that proved partly true. Finding bait and filling the well with some frisky sardines was like taking candy from a baby. Finding fish that would eat the bait IMPOSSIBLE!

I found plenty of fish today snook,red fish and trout included but not a one would eat any thing that was on a hook. Crazy as it seems the bay water temp went from 65 degrees to 60 degrees in just a couple of days. It was just enough to shut the bite down.

It will take a couple of days and the fishing should pick back up as the fish acclimate themselves to the change.

I am going to head back out tomorrow and try and find some warmer water. Tampa Bay has a couple of power plants that supply some warm water out flow that during times like these can be a haven for many species. The power plants will be my target tomorrow.

I will let you know whats happening there in my next report.

We made plans to get out this Sunday and do a little inshore reef fishing. As we approached our launch site I knew the plan was going to have to change.

Fog had set in and it was thick. I dont like running in the fog or sitting at anchor in the middle of the bay either. Its just not the safest thing to do as other boaters just can not see you.

So our plan switched to staying close to the mangrove’s in areas the boats would not be running.

After making our way thru the dense fog by GPS we soon had our baits in the water.

Karen was first up with a nice trout. Then it was red fish one after another. All on the small side. The I started catching some trout when I heard Karen say ” I dont know what it is but I have something big!”

I looked over and her rod was bent double. I told her to take it easy and let the rod and the reels drag do the work. That was all the coaching it took and her old fishing censes  kicked in and it was reel down and pull up.

The fish made some runs ripping off drag but Karen soon won the battle and landed this nice 30″ Red Drum.

The fog lifted and boat traffic picked up so we decided to call it a nice morningand head back home to watch football.