Canals were the main target area this past week. The fishing was slow with mainly sheepshead and lady fish being caught. The sheepshead make great table fair and the lady’s they make for some fun rod bending action.

The sheeps head were caught around the dock pilings in the canals using small live shrimp on a 1/0 circle hood weighted with a small split shot. The lady’s on the other hand were eager to eat our artificial baits. Just about any soft plastic on a 1/8 oz jig head would do the trick. Letting the bait hit the bottom of the canal and then bouncing it back along the bottom would entice the strike.

The trout bite was totally off and I think this had to do with this latest front coming thru. Sometimes the fish just get lock jaw and there is nothing you can do about it. The fishing so far this year has been very unpredictable. I know I am not the only one that hopes the weather soon breaks and we get some warm temps.

Keep checking back for more reports. Spring is just around the corner, I hope.

These sustained periods of freezing cold weather are having there effects on our fishery. The Tampa Bay water temps are now down in the 40’s and the fish are running out of warmer areas to seek refuge. Freezing cold days combined with some overcast skies will allow some of the darker mud bottom areas to lose there higher temperatures. Fortunately we have had mostly sunny days as this helps a little to allow those mud bottoms to warm and the fish get a chance to sun them selves.

The problem with these cold temps are two fold. The first problem is the fish (particularly snook) become stunned and begin to float on the surface. If left alone they have a chance to survive if the temperatures come back up and they get some warmth. Unfortunately I have been reading reports from around the Tampa Bay area of hundred’s of dead snook being found in some places. Personally I have not witnessed this first hand and I know how folks in the fishing community tend to exaggerate. I sure hope it was an exaggeration.

The second problem we have when the temps are down like this is poachers! The lethargic fish are easy prey for the poachers armed with nothing more than a cast net,fillet knife and cooler. I have also been reading reports of poachers being confronted and reported to the FWC. One report I read this week had a video of about 25 snook carcasses from 12 to 30 inches laying on the bottom near a boat launch. All the carcasses had been fillet. These were the obvious  bi product of poachers. I have to wonder why someone would want to fillet a 12″ snook? There would hardly be enough meat to snack on.

On a positive note our ten day forecast has us back in the 70s for a couple of days towards the end of the week. Our temps should stay on the warmer side from there on out making fishing much better. There are still plenty of fish to target with redfish,trout,sheepshead,flounder and others being in the mix. I would bet money the silver trout will be piled in the deeper holes and channels. These fish make for some great table fare as well as some fun action for the young and old alike.

In the meantime I am going to be resting up trying to kick this cold I picked up so I can be back in on the action.

Thanks for reading along.

Capt. Steve Betz

Common Snook

Trout season will be reopening in our area the first of the new year.

I have great confidence that I can put clients on some nice keeper trout this time of year so I wanted to do something different today. I like to offer a variety of species to catch using different methods so my charter’s stay fun and eventful. Being caught up in fishing the back waters and creeks I have neglected fishing the residential canals. Today would be the day I would scout them out.

I took a friend of mine with me today. John is a novice angler but he loves to fish and does not mind the scouting portion of fishing. Scouting is not something I can do with clients on board so when I do scout its usually by myself or with someone that enjoys scouting. You see scouting is not all ways about catching.

The time I had allotted today to scout probably wasn’t the best for canals as it was a negative low tide and I prefer a high out going when fishing them. But hey I had to go when I could as not to miss out on tonight’s party.

Methodically we worked the docks one by one,looking for fish and tossing small live shrimp under them. John caught on quick and began catching Redfish and Sheepshead.

After spending the time out there today I was not disappointed I went. It was not a banner day but it was productive. We caught about a dozen Red fish (red drum) and probably another dozen Sheepshead with a Snook thrown in the mix.

It was a good way to end an old year and bring in a new. It also adds an alternative fishing experience for my clients to enjoy.

Have a Happy and Safe New Year.

Capt. Steve Betz