http://www.tampabay.com/sports/outdoors/captains-corner-anchor-and-let-the-fish-come-to-you/2331352
All my life I’ve heard that adage “There’s more than one way to skin a rabbit.” I don’t know about that, but I do know it’s true about catching tarpon. Fishing has been as good or better the last couple of weeks for us than it was the beginning of the season. Only the techniques have changed. Early in the season it may have been more productive idling up and down the gulf beaches looking for schools of fish to sight cast to. Now, we anchor and let them come to us. Though they may be more difficult to detect due to the highly visible large schools breaking up, a good flow of tarpon continue to cruise the gulf beaches. Saturday morning off the beach in Manatee County we jumped eight and released four, only seeing a couple roll on the surface. A couple days before we jumped six, let four go and never saw a fish roll. Anglers are doing the same off the beaches in Pinellas County. A lot of tarpon have made their way well inside Tampa Bay. They tend to roam while in the bay making it sometimes difficult locating them from day to day. Some will settle into the “Bootleg” for a period of time then push way toward Port Tampa, nearer the Gandy Bridge. A big herd of tarpon will gang up in G-Cut to prey on the schools of bait that tend to gather there. Next day you may find them at Gadsden Point. Don’t overlook the artificial reefs or Port Manatee this time of year. Schools of glass minnows and fry bait bunch up at these structures and tarpon instinctively know it.
Jay Mastry charters Jaybird out of St. Petersburg. Call (727) 321-2142.
- Jay Mastry - March 26, 2024
- Captains Corner, Gorta - March 23, 2024
- Dave Zalewski - March 12, 2024
