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Bait On The Flats, Fish Hitting; Be On Lookout For Cobia

Photo by FRED EVERSON

J.J. Johnigean of Plant City shows off a jack crevalle he caught in the Little Manatee River on a live sardine.

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 5, 2008

Persistent cold fronts have been a problem for anglers these past few weeks. These fronts have been accompanied by lots of wind and some rain. But the good news is that the bait is still hanging on local flats.

Captain Rick Bollinger called me with a grouper report and said he caught some big fish trolling the shipping channel in the south end of the Bay. He also caught some Spanish mackerel.

Captain Chet Jennings fished the Little Manatee River with success on jack crevalle.

The fall run of fish has been in the river for several weeks. Occasionally they school up near the mouth of the river and pin the unfortunate baitfish against the seawall.

The ensuing melee is something to see. Two or three times last week I was drawn outside by the sound of a feeding frenzy that sounded like a downpour in a thunderstorm. It lasted for about 10 minutes, and I couldn't resist throwing a spoon into the mix. It got hit immediately, and, a few minutes later, I actually landed a 4-pound fish - the bigger ones usually break me off.

On a recent trip with J.J. Johnigean of Plant City, we caught some short snook and a few jacks while fishing the Little Manatee River with live bait. The day was windy and we did not have to travel far to net sardines, as they were still in the Bahia Beach basin. That could change as the water temperature continues to drop with the next series of cold fronts.

I will be on the lookout for cobia on the flats in the coming weeks.

November is usually a productive month for ling in shallow water as they feast on the migrating baitfish. The cobia will follow the bait out of the Bay unless they get trapped by a sudden drop in water temperature. If that happens, the fish will usually head for the warm water of the power plant in Apollo Beach. The fishing can be good until anglers pick off all the juvenile fish.

The bigger fish are savvy to hooks and leaders and are a harder to catch.

Trout are now a catch-and-release-only proposition until the first of the year. I suppose that's a good thing, but I was catching some big trout south of the mouth of the Little Manatee. Trout have come back a long way from the devastation of the red tide in 2005.

We have another five weeks of snook fishing left, and most fish will be off the flats and on their way to winter quarters long before the season ends Dec. 15. Snook spend the winter in the mangrove backcountry and in freshwater rivers where water temperatures stay warmer than they do on the flats.

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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