Captain’s Corner, Mike Gore

The bait is finally starting to cooperate and move onto the flats throughout Tampa Bay. This is a blessing for everyone that likes to fish East of the Skyway and had to run there for bait. Try not to over fill your bait well. It seems like we are already starting to lose oxygen in the skinny water. If your bait starts to come to the top of the bait well, get your boat on plane to revive it. This will usually bring your bait back to life.

The Redfish we are catching have been singles sitting in the sand holes. Fishing cut bait on high tide under the mangroves has produced some nice fish as well.

Trout seem to be holding in about 4 feet of water. I am belly hooking the scaled sardines under a popping cork. You will want to pop the cork about every 30 seconds. They seem to be sitting right where the grass and sand meet.

Snook are starting to make their migration to the beaches. They are not all there yet, but it won’t be long. They have moved out of the mangroves. The best catches have been out on the flats or docks in Pinellas. 

Tarpon fishing has not fully turned on yet, although some fish are being caught at the skyway and in upper Tampa Bay. Hopefully the full moon we have this weekend will bring in more threadfins. As soon as this happens, I believe we will see big numbers of Tarpon follow.