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Summertime Fishing Proves To Be Topsy-Turvy Affair

Photo by FRED EVERSON

Brian Bargen of Brandon caught this flounder fishing with Rick Bollinger of Fish Hawk Charters of Ruskin.

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 27, 2008

It's difficult to write honest fishing reports in the summer months. The fishing gets so bad sometimes, I wish I played golf.

Then again, there is already way too much frustration in fishing. Like when the boat is surrounded by rolling tarpon that won't eat. Or when you have cobia circling the boat like a merry-go-round and they ignore your baits and lures. Or when you are in the middle of a big school of thousands of Spanish mackerel with perfect baits, and you catch two.

Don't despair. It's typical summer fishing on Tampa Bay. Sure, there are days when predators ball up the bait and hit everything you throw at them, but they are like no-hitters in baseball - they only happen once or twice a season.

Water temperature is still in the high 80s, but it did clear up some. A week ago, the clarity was as poor as I have ever seen it - I could barely see bottom in two feet of water.

A recent trip with Capt. Rick Bollinger aboard Derek Fingers' charter boat produced some of the best bottom fishing I've seen all summer. We caught plenty of mangrove snapper between 14 and 17 inches, a couple of big grunts, and a big flounder. The new luxury charter service is called Fish Hawk Charters and features an air-conditioned cabin, complete with TV and stereo. Bollinger will captain the big Silverton out of Bahia Beach Marina at Little Harbor.

I ran all the way across the Bay to look for pompano early one morning last week, but never caught the first fish. On the way back, we tried to entice trout with Mirrolures, but the results were the same.

We finally settled in on a big pod of Spanish mackerel, but even they were slow to bite. They wouldn't hit any artificials or even live bait rigged on jig heads. I finally freelined some small sardines and we caught a couple of fish, but it was a struggle. Winds were calm, and it was hot. We were happy to call it a day before noon.

Snook will be back on Monday when the season reopens. The limit is still one snook, between 28 and 33 inches, per angler.

Fred Everson is a Ruskin fishing guide. All South Shore fishermen and guides may submit information and photographs to be included in this column by calling (813) 830-8890 or e-mailing ihuntsnook@aol.com.

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