Captain’s Corner: Mike Gore

The Tampa Bay Times

The redfish bite continues to impress. There are plenty of schools throughout Tampa Bay and St. Pete. All the islands around Ft. Desoto are holding fish. In upper Tampa Bay, Weedon Island and 4th street have some nice fish on them as well. So don’t feel like you have to fish the same fish as everyone else. In fact, finding fish that are not being pushed around by a bunch of boats is better. These fish are more likely to eat and you will be able to keep the school in front of you. Cut pinfish has been the bait of choice.

Some nice speckled trout have been caught in depths of 5 to 8 ft. range. Almost all have been slot fish with some being over 20 in. Try using a popping cork. You almost have to with the bait being so small. Just make sure to leave about 4ft of leader under the cork. They have been holding in the deep grass.

If the summer heat is just too much for you to handle, then trying fishing at night. The fish become a little more active when the water cools down. Snook, redfish, and trout can all be caught while fishing docks. A lot of these docks have lights on them which will be holding bait. Fishing at night can also improve your fishing during the day. The fish you find on the docks at night will usually fall off onto the nearest flat during the day.

Thanks,

Capt. Mike Gore