Still a great choice, the lower Bay is one of those places that is part of the routine.    Illegal netting activity has made the action less of what it was last year.   The best officers have been made aware of these incidents and hopefully they will put these morons out of business.

Keep the number ready:  Felony poachers are a way of life on the south shore.    Call it in.   A poacher is a common thief, who is stealing from us all.  Put this in your phone:  888-404-FWCC (3922). 

Flounder action just hasn’t been the same going on five years.   What happened to them?   A larger one is rare.  Small ones are caught on a regular basis.

Sheepshead action is strong.    I’m not into using bait so I have not been in on the flounder action but on days coming up where the tides are poor, I will consider it.   Live shrimp, fiddler crabs are the two best items to feed a sheepshead.   Rockpiles.   Docks and seawalls:  That’s where you find them.  

Silver trout finally arrived in their usual locations.   They vary in size from year to year.   They have been pretty good in size this year: Numbers, they’re always big in numbers.   Aggressive, a silver trout is a hard fighter compared to their cousins, the speckled trout.  

Speckled trout action is pure gold.   It is isolated and very good in some locations.   Use 12 Fathom Lures.  

Redfish rounds out the opportunities.   Not a huge opportunity, you can catch a couple if you’re lucky.  I believe that their numbers would be better but they have moved around to avoid the human activity mentioned above:   The illegal netters do more than just change fish behavior patterns:  They kill our smaller sport fish.    That’s why they call it a “gill net.”   

I miss the Paul Bristow reports.    He did good ones.

As always: Be careful out there!

Neil Taylor
Owner and guide:  www.strikethreekayakfishing.com
(Cell) 727-692-6345  LivelyBaits@aol.com
Owner and site administrator:  www.capmel.com

The lower Bay just continues to be great opportunities.    Again, in a battle that is never really over: The great work of FWC officers to target felony netters and keep an eye on other recreational offenders has led to better fishing for us all.  Their continued efforts to catch felony netters are making the south shore region return as a great fishery again.   But help them out:  Keep your eyes peeled for illegal activity and make a call if you see poaching, 888-404-FWCC (3922).  Your tips will help make cases and you could be eligible for a reward.

I have been asked to not stop sending this particular message:     Catch a legal snook:  Let it go.    Let’s rebuild this trophy fishery.   We have plenty of other options for take-home fish, why shoot yourself in the foot and limit your own future?        

Neil Taylor
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