Captain’s Corner: Tyson Wallerstein

The Tampa Bay Times

Spring fishing is in full swing this week in the shallows of Tampa Bay and the Intercostal Waterway. The availability of live sardines and a steady climb in the water temperature have been the biggest factors for the recent hot bite.

Its almost time to abandon the shrimp attack and completely switch over to focusing solely on filling the live well each morning with fresh caught sardines a.k.a., whitebait. Cooler water temperatures will keep the bait holding in deeper water for a while. The Skyway bridge and the many range markers throughout Tampa Bay hold plenty of bait this time of year. Reading your bottom machine correctly in order to differentiate between different types of baitfish will allow you to quickly decide what are sardines and what maybe glass minnows or threadfins. Chum the bait near to the surface with some baitfish chum and throw a cast-net on it. A heavy net with a pound and a half plus of lead per foot is needed in water over 15 feet deep, especially in a strong current.

The pass bridges are also holding bait at night. Those willing to sacrifice sleep for a shot at some live bait should get rewarded over the next several days.

As snook make there way out of their winter haunts to nearby flats they should respond well to a bit of live chumming. Its been a colder than average winter and the fish are hungry.

Redfish will be found shadowing the schools of mullet and will be willing to chase down live bait as long as it continues to warm up. Finding a spot that has some snook holding in the same area has been the key to getting the redfish fired up.