Tampa Bay Inshore Fishing Report January '19

It’s January 11th, 2019 and the fishing is off to a hot start! Cold fronts have started showing up and cooling down water temps in the Tampa Bay area. The average water temp inside Tampa Bay is at 68 degrees and the fish have definitely felt it. Fish have already made their migrations into winter time areas such as rivers, creeks, residential canals and the back country.

Fishing trips this time of the year can be very productive if you know what to look for. Planning your fishing trip around the tides is very important especially with the negative tides that we experience. We recently started a charter at 11am due to the tides and our clients caught Snook from the first cast to the last cast for four hours! What to look for? It’s very simple, in negative tides the fish are restricted in the areas that they can be in. Creeks and rivers will hold fish in deeper holes; most of these areas have a muddy and oyster bottom that hold heat in the colder months. Its best to try and fish a moving tide but be aware that fishing an outgoing tide in some places might leave you stuck.

Weather can be the difference between a productive day of fishing and slow bite kind of day. Fishing before upcoming cold fronts is usually a great time to get out, reason being is that those fish will feel the weather starting to change and will be feeding in preparation. During the cold front and a couple of days after will be the toughest bite due to the fact that those fish will need to be acclimated to lower water temps. Depending on the change caused by the cold front it could be worth waiting two to three days before going fishing again.

“Captain what are we going to catch today?” Well, right now we have several species of fish that we can target. Sheepshead, Mangrove Snapper, Trout, Snook and Redfish being at the top of our list this time of the year inside Tampa Bay. If the water temp remains close to 70 degrees the Snook will continue to feed comfortably; if it starts to drop under 65 degrees we can expect for the Snook bite to slow down until spring where they will come back in full force! My favorite time of the year for Snook! As water clarity increases and water temps continue to drop the Trout bite will start to heat up. Sheepshead usually being a great winter time fish to target have already made their way inside the bay and can be caught at bridges, reefs, rock piles and residential canals. The Redfish bite inside the rivers and creeks has been consistent with a few juvenile fish being caught. Mangrove Snapper are holding on major bridges and docks, a great option for someone fishing with kids and looking to catch dinner.

“What are they eating?” Shrimp, Scaled Sardines and artificial baits have been the meal ticket. On colder days the shrimp and artificial baits have actually out fished the sardines, so don’t be afraid to stop by your local bait shop and buy a couple dozen shrimp.

That’s all we have for the January fishing report! We hope that you find this information helpful and it makes you a better angler.

If you have any questions please feel free to comment below.

Tampa Bay Inshore Fishing Report for November '18

November in Tampa Bay has been off to a great start. With the first batch of cold fronts pushing through the state, things have really cooled down on the water and the bite has been hot! Coming out of the summer months here in Florida, it can be some of the best fishing year around along with Spring. Water temps go from the upper 80’s and even 90’s on the dog days to the mid to lower 70’s once a few of the cold fronts come through. The fish can be like us in the heat, fatigued, staying in the shade cooling off, not doing much. Now that we have nice water temps from the fronts, the bite is taking off, producing high numbered catches on our trips! Some honey holes are producing numerous slams in one spot. Can’t complain when you are catching all 3 of the prized inshore fish without having to move a lot.

Bait is still very easy to get all over the flats with sizes varying, making a nice mixed well. The time change has the sun coming up a little earlier - first light showing up around 6:30am and thats the money hour to get your bait. Chumming while fishing can really spark up the bite but isn’t really necessary with the cooler temps, the fish are pretty active as it is and are willing to feed if the bait is presented in front of them.

The water has really cleared up from all the summer storms. As you go across the flats here in Tampa, you will see how clear the water is with a lot of life moving around. Bite has been productive on both the incoming and outgoing tides. Some spots better than others depending on the tide, but if you do your homework, you should be having success on the flats and up by the mangroves. Snook and Redfish have been getting caught off the mangrove lines not tucked all the way up underneath as the summer tends to have them. They are producing a wide range of sizes, mainly in the 20”- 32” range, with the occasional big fish coming through causing a great fight with a little chaos on the boat lol.

Trout have been showing up and that’s expected this time of year. As we get closer to winter, numerous schools of trout are gearing up for their winter holes and frisky to jump all over your baits. Whether you’re throwing live bait or artificial, they are a productive bite and showing up in all sizes. The Gator Trout (larger trout) will only get better as the water cools even more. Find yourself some clean water, which stated before is most of the Bay right now, healthy grass flats with potholes and edges to them. look for depths anywhere from 2’ to 4’ of water.

November has started off great with no signs of red tide anywhere IN the bay, so don’t hesitate to take your vacations and book your fishing trips. November is filling up, but we’ve got a few days still open, so give us call and let’s get you out to enjoy this beautiful weather and great fishing!