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Expect Hot Fishing For Big Trout

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 2, 2008

Outside of one serious cold front a week before Christmas, our Florida weather has been angler friendly.

Of course, the better the weather, the poorer the fishing - but not quite. Water and air temperatures both remain unseasonably warm, meaning snook are still roaming the flats, with some folks even catching kingfish offshore the week before Christmas.

Locally, fishing the flats on low tide remains steady.

Capt. Tom Rinehart joined me for a short outing on Christmas Eve, and we caught three redfish, one of which was top of the slot. The other two were short. Water clarity was good, but overall the visibility was impaired by cloud cover, fog and a regular breeze out of the north. We caught all three drifting. Rienhart caught the biggest fish on a large live shrimp, and I caught a couple of shorts on a RipTide mullet in white, fished on a half-ounce jig head.

We saw a few bonnethead sharks, and one actually swiped at a big shrimp and then circled the boat, but we could never get it interested in another bait.

There are a few big bonnetheads roaming the flats now, but nothing like what will be here when the water temperature drops into the low 60s.

I expect they get into the shallows for the warmth of the sun, but whatever the reason, they are most plentiful on the flats when the weather is cold. Live shrimp, frozen shrimp, and frozen squid are the baits of choice. They will look at artificials, but the only big fish I've ever caught on a jig was foul hooked.

Capt. Chet Jennings told me he's been traveling to the Skyway for bait. Despite the long run, he said the baits have been good size, and he has been loading the wells with three or four tosses of the net. He's been fishing the Little Manatee River for catch-and-release snook and said the bite has been good for this time of year.

I haven't seen any more cobia since I hooked a couple two weeks ago, but I have been fishing the tides for redfish. They are susceptible on the extreme lows, and cobia are more apt to be on the high tides.

Capt. Larry Malinoski of Ruskin reported slow fishing for grouper inside and outside of the Skyway but that he and his wife, Pam, caught plenty of mangrove snapper and grunts while bottom fishing. He also said he came across three tripletail on a range marker but couldn't get them to eat anything.

Poor tides are forecast for this week - slow, rising tides with little movement on the half-moon phase.

On the positive side, trout are back in season, and from all the reports of local guides we can expect hot fishing for big trout. Look for them in 4 or 5 feet of water over grass. Live shrimp under popping corks are probably the most effective live baits, and small jigs with brightly colored tails top the artificial selection.

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 sending an e-mail to ihuntsnook@aol.com.

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