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Our Florida fishing report page offers up to date information on
fishing in the Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Tarpon Springs, Orlando and Boca Grande
area of Florida's West Coast.For more information on our Florida fishing charters and
tarpon fishing charters, please click the link below
Florida fishing
charters
18APR01
Florida Fishing Report
Full Swing
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| A very brisk and unseasonable cold front crossed the state last
night setting record lows in the 40s in the area, but it will take more than that to stop
these fish in full spring patterns. Snook have come to life and are biting very well just inside the backwaters and on the edges of the flats. I have observed many fish on the beaches the past 10 days. As typical to their first arrival on the sugar sand, they have been reluctant to bite. Not the same east of the beaches. We had excellent snook bites all through the last full moon. We were fortunate to get extended activity through the quarter moon with southwest winds that created an artificial above mean high tide until Saturday when the wind went northwest. While Saturday saw the fish off pace of the days prior, Linda Wallis was in the right place at the right time when a 20lb plus brute acknowledged her offer (see image). She captured the largest snook of the inclement spring of 2001. |
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Day one (top) and day two (bottom) the annual Overstreet snook outing proved successful again. Michael (DAD), Kyle (2nd in height) and Sean display a portion of their catch aboard the Bounty Hunter |
While many fish are on the open flats,
channels and swashes, it seems the closer to the rivers, creeks and deep pockets and
swashes,, the better the fish are responding. It has always been my opinion that the fish
that are just exiting the backwaters bite the best and to date, they are still there.
While scaled sardines have proved to be the forbidden fruit to our query, many of the fish
are still "grubbing" on the opportunity for anything to eat. Several fish this
past 10 days have had bellies stuffed with small crabs due to the lake of forage in the
places they are being found. For artificial enthusiasts, motor oil jigs that are worked in
your favorite inside snook holes will prove successful under those conditions. Trout fishing remains strong. Many fish are spawning in the cuts, on the bars and along the barrier islands. We have had several days the past 2 weeks where we have caught and released over 60 fish in the 2 to 5 lb. range in just a matter of a short period of time. Due to the freaky weather of the last 4 months, many of these fish are saturated with fully hydrated roe. The combination of net ban and the reduction in bag limit has had a positive effect on these fish that we were just not catching like this a few years back. However, I for one would not mind seeing short notice closures to protect these fish that are on the very fringe of releasing their eggs, at least for another few years. |
| Cobia continue to move on the flats
riding the tails of large stingrays. While sight-fishing them in this scenario offers the
ultimate in hunting and fishing, it is not always the best way to catch them. By far the
most productive way to get them is to anchor on a known flat that they frequent and
suspend palm sized live baits under balloons while chumming. Blind fishing the channel
markers too is a good bet. A few decent size schools of reds are still being found. By luck, we seem to locate some impressive numbers of fish during the week and during the lower quarter moon phases. This creates a problem with getting the fish to eat in ultra thin water. As the moon matures into a major phase and the tide heights increase, the weekend is upon us and the traffic shoots them out of were they were all week. Granted we’ve had some great days with them catching over 50 bulls a day, but it has been difficult to stay on them more than a day or two. The flats remain a good bet on these schools, but for those who have their heart set on them, best bet may remain around small oyster bars and docks inside the creeks and rivers. |
(Above)Bobby Hembree took top honors during the United Electric outing last week with releasing this 36 inch snook aboard the Bounty Hunter. (Below) A small fraction of the two boat trip was kept for a company fish fry. All totaled the two boats caught some 80 redfish, a half dozen snook, 30 plus trout and 4 flounder. |
| Cobia continue to move on the flats
riding the tails of large stingrays. While sight-fishing them in this scenario offers the
ultimate in hunting and fishing, it is not always the best way to catch them. By far the
most productive way to get them is to anchor on a known flat that they frequent and
suspend palm sized live baits under balloons while chumming. Blind fishing the channel
markers too is a good bet. Spanish mackerel are being caught in the passes, on the deeper flats, in the cuts and off the beach. Live bait, trolling and drifting are all excellent ways to locate these speedsters. Once found, anchor up and drop a frozen block of chum to get them to swarm behind the boat. The water remains very clear (prior to this current blow). If the tides are not running strong, the fish can be a bit shy of wire leaders necessary to avoid cutoffs. By using extra long shank hooks and mono leaders you will achieve more bites, though a small fraction will bite through. To me bites are better than noting at all. Don’t be afraid to try it… it works well. Prior to the blow the waves of kingfish continue coast the area in 30 to 80 feet and beyond. Bait has been increasingly available on the hard bottom and around the reefs and wrecks. Continue to move offshore until you reach clear water and begin your efforts there. As a general rule of the thumb, many fish will be of school size. However those willing to sacrifice bites with the use of large baits will be rewarded with and occasional fish over 30lbs. As if there is not enough to choose from at this time of year, our efforts the next few months will be exclusively set for the king of all Florida gamefish…the tarpon. There is not much more I can say of these over sized big game fish that frequent our area better than most places in the world at this time of year. Simply put, they are the ultimate ingredient quest for big game that are found very close to land and can be fished from anything from the top a bridge, a canoe or a $500, 000 sportfishing yacht. With this year’s weather pattern, we will not start off where we did the past 2 years. For now the fish will be found back inside the backcountry, the harbors and inside the bays. Next will be the passes and then the beaches. Tarpon not only test the mettle of anglers across the world, but too the guides who dedicate their lives to them. Days are long and consecutive and coffee and Mountain Dew (poon jluice) become a major part of many guides’ diet. While the reports are likely not to come as fast due to overall exhaustion, trust it will be as good as it gets the next several months. It’s a full schedule this year as always and I am looking forward in seeing old friends and making new ones as well. Now enough talk, it is time to walk the walk and get it on! Screaming drags and tired arms! Robert McCue |
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