Captain’s Corner: Jim Lemke

Capt Jim Lemke Times Correspondent

Now that the first Cold Front is over and the fishing is doing great so let’s go fishing.   With fall, just around the corner and we are starting to see the fish moving on the flats and getting ready for their winter patterns and we start fishing later during the day. The Snook, Redfish, Trout and many more species are out roaming around the flats and the bay area reefs now.

The bay area reefs and wrecks are holding a lot of Mackerel, Mango Snapper, and keeper Grouper this time of the year and over the next few months.  When you are bottom fishing these places, I like fishing the slower tide so I can use the smallest weight possible to get down to the bottom and start adding as the tide picks up.  I will also put out a flat line for some Kingfish, Mackerel and sharks.

As you start moving up to the flats this month you find a lot of fry bait to nice sardines and that means the fish moving up on the flats to feed. In the 2 to 5 feet of water you will find the Trout feeding as you move into that 3 feet and above up to the mangroves you will find the Snook and Redfish feeding. In the fall, I like to fish the low incoming tide to about half way up the incoming tide. It doesn’t madder if you are live baiting, cut baiting, or throwing artificial.

Capt. Jim Lemke charters out of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater and can be reached at (813) 917-4989 and at captjimlemke@gmail.com.