By Neil Taylor, www.strikethreekayakfishing.com

Pompano are all over the place, including the bridge pilings of lower Tampa Bay and deeper troughs where they like to collect.    They are good size this year and they should be plentiful for the next few months.    What to use?    Go find the yellow or chartreuse Silly Willy jigs and also get some teaser flies.   Loop knot the two together on 25-pound fluorocarbon leader and hop it up and down off the bottom.    Enjoy the fight and the dinners.   Pompano must be 11 inches in length and the bag limit is six per person.

 

Flounder are caught but not in the numbers like the last three years.   Targeting and baits are always just about the same:   The 12 Fathom SlamR and Fat Sam Mullet on a 1/8 to 3/16-ounce jighead will locate and catch them.   Slow and steady, bumping the bottom anglers will have no problem catching more than a few.   Keeping a flounder??  My own tip:  Let the 12 to 13 inch fish go and just keep the biggest flatties.  The amount of meat on those “barely legal” fish is pretty meager.  Put those back to let them grow and just keep the ones that are worth the effort.

 

Redfish action has gotten somewhat better.    The action is probably better than it was in April and May for whatever unknown reason.    There are a lot of middle slot fish, some juveniles and an occasional bruiser.   The early morning hours just before sunrise until about 8:00AM has been the best time to go.   The hour around sunset is also seeing a solid feeding period for redfish.   The heat:  Live bait may be the only way to catch a redfish on some days.    The water is almost 90 degrees.

 

Same pattern as in June and early July:  Speckled trout can be caught pretty regularly on the 12 Fathom SlamR and Mullet.   It is not unusual to catch flounder while targeting trout and vice versa.  The late afternoons and into sundown have been higher feeding times for trout, beating the dawn feed significantly.  But fish have been caught well into the morning hours as well.   The topwater bite is decent at sunrise IF there is not a glut of floating grass.

 

Sharks are around in good numbers.    Blacktips will eat live baits while a variety of other sharks will eat fresh dead baits in most locations.

 

July  28  Kayak Fishing Skool
6:30 to 7:45PM Bill Jackson Shop for Adventure (Pinellas Park)
“Capture”.   Tips in finishing the catch and proper fish handling

To get detailed reports, check The Skyway Report on capmel.com.   Written by Paul Bristow every week, he keeps you on the heartbeat of the Skyway bite.  Get out and enjoy the easy action on the Skyway Piers!  Thank you Paul for dedicated, detailed reports EVERY SEVEN DAYS!

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.  The fishery survives the pressure of poaching, a lot of anglers and just continues to be a great location to go.

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
Co-host: Capmel.com Radio, 8 to 9AM Sundays on 1040 “The Team”

Neil Taylor
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