What’s happenin’ in the upper stretches of Tampa Bay?

Redfish, absolutely a pretty good story.    I fought the draw of big trout in other areas to ignore the opportunities in the northern stretches of the Bay but I paid attention to what others were doing and even made a few trips up here myself.   The water temperature is great.   The location of the “numbers” changes.   I had a trip where we popped six fish and hour for three straight hours, similar results the next day and then a client who returned on their own the following day:  Shut out.  That’s fishin’

Trout:  A story since November, some very big trout are all the way up the Bay.    The best known spots at the top of the Bay?   14 to 17 inch fish, with most at the lower end.   But specific spots in those same areas hold some brutes.  It is that time of year.    It is a great time to be in Upper Tampa Bay.

In 2013:   “On a windy day, a decision to do the creek thing:  Ryan Bell from Indianapolis brought out his brother-in-law (Brett) and father-in-law (Ron) and I was thinking it would be a trout thing:  Get the guys some action, have some fun throwing the 12 Fathom SlamR to these cooperative fish.   That plan was working OK.  Even though it was not a super stellar bite, they were having fun.   Then it happened.    Ron’s rod went over hard.   The fish went hard to the right and came up to do a hard head shake.     A snook. rare, even in this area where I would take people to catch 40 or more in a single trip pre-2010.   Anyway, Ron was trying but I “put him on a time limit.”   He had to make progress on it or hand it off to me because of the sensitive nature of killing a mature snook.   He agreed and continued to work hard at it, and was winning!   I told him “loosen your drag back up a little.”   He said “I thought I had to put it to this fish.”   I said “It isn’t a snook.”  Now the problem with what it was, I skipped throwing my crate in because I had the rods spread out on their boats and grabbed my other essentials.   My gripping tools are all attached to the crate.    Ron’s cobia measured out 38 inches.   “

See ya the next time around.    As always: Be careful out there!

At the request of my contemporaries, “keeping the message alive”:    If you catch a snook:  don’t take it out of the water for eight minutes taking pictures.    Don’t “get a weight” of the fish.    Enjoy the species if you cross paths, but take extra steps to make sure those fish remain in the living population.     A huge contingency of the best respected fishing guides on the Gulf coast opposed their decision to reopen to harvest, made sincere pleads over and over to get the decision reversed but were ignored.  Do your part and try to give this species a chance to return to prominence regardless of their faulty data and poor decision making.

Neil Taylor
www.strikethreekayakfishing.com
(Cell) 727-692-6345
LivelyBaits@aol.com

Stay alert and make a difference:

Keep an eye out and make the phone calls.    Illegal nets found in Upper Tampa Bay have been confiscated thanks to the tips from citizens.    Working with the field staff, I personally know that they have a great response rate on the calls I make.    Too many people do not make the attempt because they did not get a response in the past.      Trust me, they do the best they can and they do respond as quickly as possible.

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.  If you see a poacher:  Make a phone call.

The Captain Mel Classic:   May 12, 2018.     The format remains the same.     All lure.     A fly division.    Trout winners, redfish winners; grand prize category, longest combined inches of redfish and trout.   Bonus species flounder.      Entry fee the same at $30.      All five divisions the same:   Open; No Motor; Ladies; Junior and Fly.

Your past participation much appreciated, we hope to have you extremely involved again this year.

The host location will remain at the Fat Cat Tavern.     Check in will be Friday May 11, 5 to 8PM.
We have the same volunteers to staff the event we had last year.      Everything should go very well again.    The charity this year will remain Suncoast Animal League.

Neil Taylor
Latest posts by Neil Taylor (see all)

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR