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Heat Can't Spoil The Bite

Photo by FRED EVERSON

Austin Johnigean of Plant City caught and released his first snook at the mouth of the Little Manatee River.

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 25, 2008

It has been the hottest June I can remember in 14 years of fishing Tampa Bay, but despite the heat, the fishing was pretty good.

I can't remember ever fishing in 98-degree heat, but that's what we've had for a few days in recent weeks. It slowed the tarpon bite, but everything else, with the exception of Spanish mackerel, had the feed bag on.

My fishing buddy Keli Emery of Plant City told me she caught a tripletail, and plenty of redfish, and hooked a big cobia that broke her off on a buoy chain.

Bait has been everywhere on the South Shore flats, but that could change any day. With water temperatures approaching 90 degrees, threadfins will soon be the only game in town. That's not a bad thing, but they are not as hardy as scaled sardines.

The early morning trout bite has been pretty good for me. I haven't been slaying them, but we're putting some 17- and 18-inch fish in the box and not hooking too many shorts.

I had one trip last week with Jeremy and Austin Johnigean and we didn't get out until late in the morning. By the time we got to Pinellas Point, the wind had died and it was sweltering. The tide was moving pretty good and we caught a few fish right away, but it was too hot to stay.

We idled around looking for cobia, but did not see any. I did see plenty of bonnethead sharks, and hooked a small blacktip on a Mirrolure, but no cobia. Then we came up on great schools of big-scaled sardines and I filled a live well with a couple of tosses.

The heat was oppressive enough to keep us out of Little Cockroach Bay's backcountry, so we fished the mouth of the Little Manatee River where we had a little breeze. The bite wasn't hot, but we did catch a couple of short snook and a slot-sized redfish on live sardines.

Capt. Larry Malinoski went 56 miles offshore and scored on a couple of smoker kingfish, a big grouper and an assortment of other bottom feeders. Capt. Billy Jordan lost a big amberjack to a hungry shark on the same trip.

The best fishing for the next week should come on the strong falling tide of the afternoon beginning on Saturday. There will be minus wade fishing tides early in the evening on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. That is usually a great opportunity to stalk tailing redfish.

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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