Archive for January, 2012
Hey guys, check out this month’s feature article in Onshore Offshore Magazine by yours truly. The article discusses advantages to, and tactics for kayak fishing in Tampa Bay during low tides. You can view the article online or pick up a copy (FREE!) at your local tackle shop.
Jon Brett of http://fishbuzz.tv and I got out for a quick morning trip on his skiff this morning in Lower Tampa Bay. We found large schools of redfish tailing early and Jon was able to connect to two over slot fish on the fly rod. I was not so lucky, breaking off one and pulling the hook on another before the fish stopped tailing.
With the tide still coming in and the fish not showing themselves anymore we made a quick move and got back on fish quickly. Using the MirrOdine I landed two reds to 26″ and a handful of trout up to 23″. Jon landed a few smaller reds as well on CAL shad tails before we called it a day around 11.
This time of year is as good as it gets for sight fishing to redfish. I cater to fly anglers as well as spin, so how ever you want to target them.. we can get after ‘em!
Met Kapers for a late morning trip inside Tampa Bay to look for hungry redfish after our recent cold snap. Water temps dropped significantly into the low 60’s with air temps getting as low as the 30’s at night. The day started out chilly but warmed slightly as the day went on. We launched later in the day around 10:30 and began seeing fish soon there after.
It did not take long for us to hook up so we jumped out of the boats and waded. Finally tally was 10+ redfish and a handful of slot sized trout. Trout season is now open for our region of Florida, but these fish were released to fight another day. Because we were wading, we did not take many pics, but here’s a few! 
My girlfriend and I decided to spend New Year’s day on the water together and launched the kayaks inside Tampa Bay. We fished the high incoming tide and found the big trout and redfish in the same areas around mullet schools. All of today’s fish came on XL MirrOdine’s twitched slowly under the surface. The trout were even bigger today with the biggest fish taping out just over 26″. My girlfriend got one at 24″ with about a dozen fish well over the 20″ mark. Most of the reds were small with a few lower slot fish and one 24″er.
Got Dave from Chicago out for the morning in the waters of lower Tampa Bay in the kayaks. We started the morning catching trout, flounder and ladyfish along the edges of grass flats as the tide moved out. Dave scored a bonus pompano that came home for dinner that night.
Once the tide stopped moving we made a slight relocation and began throwing suspending baits in mullet schools waiting for the incoming tide. Dave got started right away with a redfish and quickly followed up with several large trout between 20-24″. I even got in the mix with a 26″ trout of my own. The bite was hot for a few hours until the tide eventually became slack and we were off the water before sunset.
Trent and I got out for a few hours on new years eve inside Tampa Bay. We fished the last few hours of day light, catching a dozen or more reds mostly cookie cutters and low slot with a few upper slots mixed in. The hot bite of the evening was the big trout with several trout between 20-23.5″ coming in. The tide was medium/high and incoming, and the fish were found around mullet schools in roughly knee deep water. With high temps it was very comfortable out and the fish were active! All fish tonight caught on the MirrOLure Lil John and MirrOdine.
