Fishing Reports

Redfish s Trout s Snook s Pompano s Tarpon

What you want to look for are the outgoing tides in the afternoon or at the break of daylight. That has been the best time for me and it seems to be the time when they are feeding best. I have been catching them on the Boss swim baits, d.o.a bait buster and the Catch 2000 from mirr-o-lure. For live bait it is greenbacks, finger mullet, pen fish and shrimp. For the 100# plus tarpon I have been using 12" to 15" live ladyfish or cut shad on the bottom.

Those have been the best baits for me to find these fish in the rivers, you just have to start at the mouth of the river and idle up river until you see them rolling. Once you get to a spot that looks good just stop, shut off the motor and sit there for a little while. If you do not see any, go on until the next good looking spot and do the same. You will find them, just do not give up.

The trout have really been biting  well also. I am catching them in about 2 to 5 feet of water, over the grass flats and we are using a soft plastic on a jig head or a popping cork with a jig under it. The way that I have been finding them is pulling up on a grass flat, setting myself up with the wind to drift across the whole flat. I am making long casts with the wind. Once I find where they are holding. I just keep repeating that same drift and we have been getting our fair share of them.

Red fish have been targeted on the hi tide and I am fishing points and rock piles using cut bait and shrimp. I am putting the shrimp on a cork and letting it drift around the points or rocks and the cut bait I am free lining on a two hook rig around the same areas. It has been working really well for me and the fish have been anywhere from 18" to 35". If you want to throw soft plastics try the Shredder on a Edje hook as it has been working very well.

So get out there and catch them up!!

Thanks capt Jeremy Heimes
remember be safe and take a kid fishing

Back home again and fishing St. Joe's Sound. What a difference fishing here verses fishing in Panama City. The fish here are just so picky and spooky.

With no pre-fishing, Mike Folsom and I fished the Xtreme Redfish Series out of Anclote. We ran down to the larger barrier islands and within less than an hour we saw a very large relaxed school of Reds. They had no interest in eating, even on shrimp or cut mullet. Anchoring up Mike was able to land a 26.5" Red and as the tide fell we moved to the outside edge to catch the fishing moving out. Seeing some tails, and moving fish, every cast was just a spooked fish. The forecast of 5-10 mph winds out of the east would have been great, but it was more like 15 with higher gusts.

Every cast to a sighted fish would present the bait in the right spot, but because the fish were leaving the flat the wind would lay the line directly over each fish, before they could see the bait, and spook them.

Finishing our pass we decided to power up and make another drift. After we moved, the trim and tilt motor went out and we were not able to lift the motor to make the pass on the fish. One good fish in the boat and we cannot get to them anymore. Anchoring up to chunk some baits along the drop-off did no good for us. I think I just need a new boat.
 
There are some good redfish out there, you just need to get to them.
 
Captain Joe Fishing
Fish On Lures
Silly Willy Lures & Jigs
Hebert Landscaping
www.captainjoefishing.com
www.hebertlandscaping.com
joe@captainjoefishing.com
727-510-0599

I had an off day to go scout some early July pompano with a friend and he is very knowledgeable about fishing the bridges inside Tampa Bay. We set out just a little before 8 AM, it was the top of the tide and Dave was able to keep up an appropriate distance from the bridge using his trolling motor.

Equipped with a Silly Willy with a pink teaser, I began catching pinfish, grass grunts, a lizard fish, ladyfish and a sea robin. Dave connected on a couple of pompano first that were thick, large pompano that fought hard. One moment of excitement came when there was a big flash of silver near the boat as a tarpon took interest in the pinfish I was reeling up to the surface.

As the tide slowed and then started to switch, I got in on the action. These were soft striking pompano that were tapping the lures gently, and all of the ones I caught hit the lure multiple times before getting hooked. All of the pompano had the teaser embedded in their lip.
 
One nice 15-inch flounder also ate the Silly Willy. Toss in a mangrove snapper, and a lane snapper, and it was a very diverse day of bridge "catching" in just a couple of hours out on the water. July is a great month to target pompano at the bridges and passes. Don't forget to take your Silly Willy jigs with you! Get them down bouncing off the bottom and enjoy success!
 
Neil Taylor
Guide Services-Tampa Bay Region
Adventure Kayak Fishing
www.adventurekayakfishing.com
(Cell) 727-692-6345
LivelyBaits@aol.com

Sunjammers' Video Fishing Report - 7/12/10

Tackle and techniques: Medium-heavy spinning tackle is necessary on these trips because there is a good chance of encountering large snook. Their numbers are significantly down after the frigid January temperatures, but some large snook have arrived in our region. Thirty-pound fluorocarbon leader will work for all three species. Fishing in the late afternoon or at twilight with a live bait will likely outperform a lure. Once all light is gone from the sky, artificial lures have the advantage. Five-inch, white or silk chartreuse soft-plastic lures rigged on a weedless jig head work well. Retrieve the lures at a steady pace for trout and
redfish. For snook, add twitching to entice strikes.

Tip: Trout, redfish and snook will congregate in areas that have decent current flow, a food supply and contour changes. Particularly on the lower evening tides, all three species will settle into small holes or off the down-current edge of sandbars waiting for a meal to flush by. Handle snook with exceptional care, keeping them in the water as much as possible, and make a fast, healthy release. Neil Taylor charters kayak fishing trips in the Tampa Bay area and can be reached at adventurekayak fishing.com or (727) 692-6345.

Bob O'Brien and his 39-inch snook: Caught on the 12 Fathom Buzz Tail Shad, pearl white on The Edje weedless hook. Harley and his big redfish, also caught at night. Nighttime is a "theme" this time of year. It is beautiful out there in the evening, and definitely much cooler than the morning trips. We have no oil in our waters here! Keep your summer plans to come down and enjoy our area and do some kayak fishing!

Neil Taylor
Guide Services-Tampa Bay Region
Adventure Kayak Fishing
www.adventurekayakfishing.com
(Cell) 727-692-6345
LivelyBaits@aol.com

Hello every one it is that time again, it is hot and sunny and the fish are biting. For the Anclote area the red fish have stepped it up and they are eating really well. We are catching them on the Boss swim baits with 1/4oz Edje hooks in the mornings once the sun gets up. After that I like to switch to cut bait as it seems to work a little better than soft plastics or top water later in the morning. The cut bait that I like to use is cut lady fish or green backs, but any cut bait will work. We have been catching the red fish around Anclote island and around the mouth of the river.

Number two fish to target is the Snook, we are catching them on white bait and we have been catching them at all times of the day as long as the tide is moving. We have been fishing the north end of Anclote island in the sandy swash channels, and on the beach, you just have to ride around until you see them and then you set up on them according to the wind and tide. We have also been catching some in the river around the docks by pitching the green backs underneath and around the docks. I am using 20 to 30 pound leader and a #2 size circle hook, it has been working very will for me so give it a shot.

Number three fish is the big bad Tarpon and they are stacked out on Egmont Key and on the Fort Desoto beaches, and you want to target them on the strong outgoing tide. On the beach you are going to look for rolling tarpon, once you see them try to get in front of them so you can get set up to pitch a bait at them. The baits that we are using are thread fin, pass crabs, and the catch 2000 by Mirr-o-lure.

When you are fishing Egmont you are going to want to get some pass crabs and the fish have been on the north end of the island, close to the 90 foot hole. You want to figure out the tide, and the wind, and set up a drift. You can free line or use a float and the fish have been around 60 to 140pounds. If you are having trouble just watch the boats around you and do the same thing that they are doing but always remember to be friendly and keep a wide berth from the other fishermen so you don't mess up their drift.

Now here are pics of some fish. The red fish pic is of John and Kim from Palm Habor and the tarpon pic is of myself and Brian.

ps remember to take a kid fishing

Thanks,

Capt. Jeremy Heimes # 813-714-9808
CHEIMES@TAMPABAY.RR.COM

For the bridges you are going to want to go castnet some threadfins or catch them on a sabiki. Then all you have to do is anchor up tide of the bridge you are fishing and free line the threadfin back to the bridge pilings or the bumpers if your are at the Skyway bridge. The best time to fish bridges is around the new and full moon as the tides will be a lot stronger then and that makes the bridge fishing better. The fish have been 80 to 180 pounds.

Now to the Red fishing. There are a bunch of over slot fish that have moved into Tampa bay and it seems like there is an over slot red on every point and around every island in Tampa bay. I have been catching them on everything from top skitter walks to big live threadfins. It seems the bite has been better on the high tides that we have been having. You want to be fishing the mangrove island and mangrove points at the highest part of the tide, that has been the ticket for those big red fish so give it a shot.  Don't forget to send me some of those great pictures of those big fish, I would really like to see them!

P.S.  remember to take a kid fishing

Thanks,
CAPT Jeremy Heimes
#813)714-9808 email cheimes@tampabay.rr.com