Captain’s Corner: Jay Mastry

The Tampa Bay Times

In spite of the recent wind, rain, cold and foggy conditions… mangrove snapper and sheepshead are chewing along the edges of the ships channel in Tampa Bay .  This time of year in the bay you’ll have to weed through a bunch of juvenile “mangos”.  Saturday, we probably let go a hundred while catching the twenty we were looking for.  The sheepies were assorted sizes but will be fattening up through the rest of this month and next.  Whitebait would be preferred for the mangos but you won’t catch any sheepshead on them.  Shrimp works best for the targeted species and can also provide non-stop action from the grouper and grunts that also hang out along the rocky edges.  With the smaller fish and clear water, downsizing our leaders from 30 to 20 lb. test has resulted in more bites.  This time of year fog may become a factor and navigating in it can be treacherous.  Leaving the dock we had 10 miles of visibility Saturday morning while crossing the bay to the ships channel near Port Manatee.  Within an hour after anchoring it was reduced to about 50 yards and stayed that way all the way back home 3 hours later.  When anchored in the fog it’s wise to turn off your radio/stereo.  You’ll hear approaching boats long before you see them… if you ever do.  If I hear a boat coming at me, I’ll start my engine and at least be prepared to react if need be.  If you have to be underway in dense fog – GO SLOW – and have your crew help you be on the lookout for approaching vessels.  If up on a plane your reaction time is greatly reduced, especially if the oncoming vessel is too.

Captain Jay Mastry