Go Fish May 06, 2010

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   I am still waiting for that first calm day to do some cobia hunting, but the winds of April were much like those of March. Thus far May is nothing to write home about either in terms of wind. However, I did finally find some redfish. I fished mid day Saturday with buddy Keli Emery and the wind kept us in the backcountry of Little Cockroach Bay. Water clarity wasn’t very good, and the wind was howling so we started fishing some cut ladyfish in the first passes south of Sand Key. We didn’t get so much as a peck, but we did see some pinfish so I opened a can of jack mackerel and threw the net. The bait was nothing to rave about, but after 10 throws we had two dozen half dollar sized pinfish. I still have yet to see a school of pilchards in shallow water, and it’s getting late in the season for that. Anyway, we had a frozen ladyfish and some pins so we hit the shadowline between Sand Key and Mag’s Hole. The first couple of stops didn’t produce a strike, but in on hole I did see a dozen or so very big snook as they passed by.

   The third stop proved to be the charm. Keli Emery pitched the right sized pinfish on a jig hook into a hole and soon as it hit the water she hooked up. Ten minutes later, I netted a redfish just shy of 27 inches and threw it in the cooler. Before I could bait my hook and get a line in the water after putting the camera away, Keli was hooked up again. This one was only 22 inches, but still a good fish. The bite screeched to a halt after that, and it got very hot, so we headed back to the dock.

   Spring is apparently over already and the heat is upon us. Some good things should happen before mid day fishing becomes unbearable. The tarpon are already here, and so are the cobia. All we need is a couple of calm days to clear the water and let us get at them. As for pilchards, I’m not hearing anything outside of the Sunshine Skyway.
  

For more information visit the captain’s website at Tampabayfishingguide.com, or phone him at 813 830 8890.