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? It is even more crucial now as I had clients catch legal size snook this past week: All fish were returned to remain part of our fishery and future. My clients caught a few legal size fish. All were more than happy to release “our future.” Honestly, why not just eat something else? Coming up on five years since the awful weather event, we do not have a fishery anywhere close to what we had in 2009, and won’t for many years yet. Be a part of the solution: Bring back our fishery of snook at the most rapid rate possible, let them all go. Snook remain the saddest situation in the history of fish management. Handled differently we would be approaching a recovery. Instead, 80% of the places I go don’t have any snook. The other 20% have nearly all tiny snook. That’s no good.
The fishing at the bottom of the Bay? I thought it couldn’t get any better. I was wrong. It has been a slaughter, pretty much every trip. I have liked it that there are so many people who want to let their fish go. That is a trend I would like to see get stronger. Keep some, but don’t keep your legal limit.
Trout: Probably no better time to throw topwater lures to them. Second choice, the 12 Fathom SlamR. Trout action has been good all summer. It is about to hit peak. Wintertime trout are about to become a reality. And it is going to be GOOD.
Redfish, early morning topwater crushers, we caught four on topwater recently before the sun was even above the horizon.
Flounder: So, they’re back. Soooo, they’re not very big. That’s OK. Next year hopefully back to normal, it’s always good to see small fish. It is. 2017 was pretty much a flop when it came to flounder.
Bluefish, jacks, mackerel and ladyfish are all pretty much cruising the channels and troughs. They will all attack almost anything. The jacks, if you can intercept them, are very large- easily the largest since before the 2010 freeze.
It is a great time to get on the action. Get out there between the fronts and catch these fish before they move!
Want to know what’s going on off the Skyway piers? 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!
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.
- The Neil Blog… - July 26, 2023
- The Catfish - July 26, 2023
- update - July 22, 2023
