Captains Corner: Rob Gorta

The Tampa Bay Times

September 23 marks the end of the summer.  This means water temperature starts to drop and new schools of Redfish start to show up in the usual hot spots around Pinellas point. Some of my “secret” spots that very few people know about are holding decent numbers of fish. These are areas that have low boat traffic.  I have spots to fish on a low tide, and I have spots to move to on a high tide.  Low tide spots can be the most difficult to find. When the water gets too low for the fish on the flats, you have to figure out where the fish will move to when the water gets to shallow for the fish to swim.  Redfish like to have a certain amount of water to swim in, when it gets to low, they will rapidly move to deeper water.  I watch the school’s movement every time and pay attention to which direction they fall off the flat.  After years of watching schools of fish, I have put together a theory of their movements and where they are going to go whatever the tide is doing. Figure that out and you have a “secret” spot of your own.  The last two times that I have hit my low tide spots have yielded big numbers of fish that I did not see last year at this time. Pinfish has been the go-to bait.  I have been using a cork and adjusting the level according to the tide level.  Pins can be found easily on any grass flat.

Captain Rob Gorta

727-647-7606

fishingstpetersburg.com