Fishing Tampa's Flats and Bay

Posts Tagged ‘spanish mackerel’

The snook bite in April was very good and continued throughout the month and into May. Bait (sardines) have finally shown up and its only getting thicker.

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

If you have been keeping up with my reports you would know that my wife had asked me to take her fishing. We decided that Easter Sunday would be perfect as we had no other plans. It had been a while,since November to be exact that Karen and I had spent a day together fishing for fun. Now do not get me wrong,I love guiding and for me I can not think of anything I would rather do,except spend time on the water with my wife.

If you have never caught Spanish Mackerel now is the time to give it a try. These toothy critters are a blast to catch on light spinning gear. You can expect a lot of cut offs as these mini torpedoes have razor sharp teethe.

The first order of business is to get the right bait. Sardines are perfect baits and can be found right now at some of the local bridges. If you can not get sardines you can slow troll some silver spoons.

I like to use anywhere from 40 to 60 pound test mono leader and a long shank  J -hook in the 1/0 size. Anchoring around the bridges and structure is a great place to start. I will chum a little with some of the baits and then free line some to get the bite.

We had our share of cut offs and losses but we did manage to put several to the boat. We also caught a few snapper but most were right around the 14″ range.

Spanish Mackerel

Toothy Critter

Mangrove Snapper

I know these are not the largest fish you have ever seen or maybe even caught but they put up a drag ripping fight on light tackle and make great table fare. There is a limit of 15 mackerel per person per day and they have to be at least 12 inches to the fork.

If you have children this is something sure to please them as these fish will keep the rods bent.

Thanks for checking in on the reports. I will be on the water this week and will keep you updated as to what kind of action Tampa Bay has to offer.

Capt. Steve Betz

I know according to the calendar the first day of spring was March 20,but according to my wife it was April 1st. That date is the first time since I can remember that she has asked me to go fishing. You see my wife hates the cold. If it drops below 70 degrees that is a freeze to her. Well our temps are now rising into the 80’s and she is ready and so the fish should be also.

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