Captain’s Corner: Jay Mastry

The Tampa Bay Times

What a difference a couple days can make.  Tide being the key.  Saturday morning we wore em’ out while mangrove snapper fishing well inside Tampa Bay on the incoming tide first thing in the morning.  Two days later on a two tide day with barely any tidal flow they wore us out trying to get them chewing good.  They were there, we were marking them on the recorder.  We caught some and lost some but nothing like we’ve been used to.  It hasn’t much mattered which way the tides going as long as it’s moving.  A study of a tide chart can help you plan accordingly.  The traditional tarpon season around these parts has ended for most.  For a couple of my diehard tarpon fishing buddies it’s still going strong.  Brothers Chris and Steve Petry released a couple on Labor Day and jumped a couple others.  They’ve been yanking on them for weeks while soaking shad on the bottom along the beaches in Manatee County .  There are others still being reported caught in Tampa Bay , particularly near the Howard Franklin Bridge .  Saturday’s full moon will likely bring out the best of what’s left for tarpon fishing.  I’ve always liked fishing the ‘edge’ along the gulf beaches during the afternoon dumping outgoing tide during this moon phase.  While it’s well documented, mangos like to chew good in the dark on and around the full moon, I’m betting the daylight bite in the mornings this weekend are going to be pretty sporty too.  Favorable tides will make the difference.

Captain Jay Mastry