Captain’s Corner: Ed Walker

The Tampa Bay Times

By Ed Walker

Frigid water temperatures have shut down most of the flats fishing in the Pasco and North Pinellas area. Shallow clear waters experience the most extreme temperature fluctuations so many species simply leave until conditions improve. The question is; where do they go? Around Tarpon Springs the answer is either up-river, or into the power plant outfall canal.

The power plant area is usually the best bet. Lately there have been good numbers of spotted sea trout (which are currently closed to harvest), black drum, jacks, bluefish, and pompano moving up and down this stretch of artificially warmed water. One thing about powerplant fishing is that the fish are remarkably finicky. The pompano may go on a rally with bites every other cast. An hour later they shut down completely and the trout start feeding. The big jack cravelle sometimes gobble up everything in sight but other times they huddle up close to the warmth source and do not bite at all.

The same goes for tackle; the pompano may be hitting goofy jigs like mad one hour and will only bite a sand flea later. Sometimes soft plastic jigs work good for trout but often they are ignored. The take-away from all this is to bring lots of different bait options. Have an assortment of jigs, topwater plugs, and spoons in your tackle box and a few dozen live shrimp. There is nothing more frustrating than watching the other anglers slaying the fish on a bait or lure you do not have.