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Anglers are catching big trout on the flats

Photo by FRED EVERSON

Jesse Tidey of Plant City with a sea trout he caught in Tampa Bay off South Shore.

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By FRED EVERSON

Tribune columnst

Published: July 10, 2009

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Fred Everson

Water clarity is worse than poor and has been for months.

There has also been a large algae bloom on the Pinellas side of the bay attributed to a potent mix of high water temps, rainfall, fertilizer and animal waste.

The 14-mile long swath of algae appears like a brown stripe when viewed from the air and has the potential to kill fish and crabs. There was also an outbreak of algae in Tampa Bay last year, and no one can predict when it will dissipate.

Anglers continue to catch big trout on the flats off South Shore.

Mike Strickland of Riverview told me he caught only two fish in front of Sand Key on a recent trip, but one of them was 25- 1/2 inches. He said he was finding sardines on the flats despite the murky water.

Tarpon fishing around the Sunshine Skyway Bridge is peaking, and the fish have been running big. Most anglers there are fishing pass crabs or threadfin herring on 50-pound tackle.

You can find Spanish mackerel everywhere there are threadfins this time of year, but the best bite occurs when they have glass minnows balled up. Mackerel will hit anything when that happens; anything shiny will do. Gotcha plugs and metal spoons are favorites. I like to rig my mackerel lures on 60-pound monofilament.

If you don't like mackerel, it's a good idea to keep a couple anyway. Last time I checked, jack mackerel, which many anglers use for chum, it was more than $1 a can. You can achieve the same results with boiled Spanish mackerel, and it might even work better than the canned stuff. I cut them in chunks and drop them into a pot of boiling water for about four minutes. Then I drain the chunks, portion them into plastic freezer bags and have a supply of greenback chum on hand when I need it.

I'm still receiving great snapper reports from the south end of the bay. I look for these fish under the channel buoys on a moving tide. Cut threadfin, live shrimp and small sardines all work well. Small plastic shrimp are the ticket, if you want to try artificial lures. These fish see well, so forgo the use of a leader.

Catch-and-release snook action has been good around the mouth of the Little Manatee River on falling tides. I watched two anglers land a nice snook in front of a dock on the river last week and then carefully release it.

I've also had several reports of redfish on the flats in front of Sand Key. That's welcome news, because reds have been scarce there since last fall. Most of the redfish I've seen on the flats over the past few months have been oversized.

Fred Everson is an outdoor writer and Ruskin-based fishing guide. All South Shore fishermen and guides may submit information and photographs to be included in his column by calling (813) 830-8890 or sending an e-mail to ihuntsnook@aol.com.

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