Tampa Bay Fishing In The Rain!
Capt. TJ Stewart
July 8, 2009
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Not only did we have a great deal of wind last week, we also had a ton of rain. Despite the wind and rain, we were still able to fish last week. Sometimes the rain can actually help instead of hinder you while fishing this time of year because it cools the temperature down. Although the wind and rain didn't keep us from fishing, it did cause some changes. The water temperature dropped roughly 5 degrees and the fish moved around a bit.
Do you want to catch snapper or grouper? Most people think that you have to travel offshore to catch these fish, but that is simply not the case this time of year. Many snapper and grouper are in the Bay this time of year. Lately, it seems as if there are bigger grouper in the Bay. We've caught many grouper while fishing for tarpon, and snapper while around structure, such as bridges, docks, or reefs. Snapper are not only fun to catch, but they taste delicious.
We've hooked a few tarpon over the past week, and we would have hooked more if the wind would stop blowing a bit. However, we caught some 4 foot to 5 foot sharks while fishing for tarpon. Shark fishing on light tackle is great fun. The spinner sharks and black tip sharks are especially fun to catch because they put up a great fight.
The snook just keep getting bigger! We've caught many fish around the 30 inch range. Take a look at the picture. This snook was roughly 35 inches long or better, but fought like a 45 inch snook. Once he hit the line, he took over 100 yards of line. I had to pull the anchor and chase the fish down. It was a great fish that put up an even better fight!
The big schools of redfish should be showing up any day now. Most of the redfish we've caught lately have been while fishing for snook. There is nothing better than finding an area where you catch both snook and redfish. Once you get into place and start catching snook, put a little more chum in the water and put some bait on the outside of the hole where you are catching the snook and you will catch other types of fish. It is not unusual to catch a slam in one area this time of year. Please visit www.castawaychartersinc.com and book your trip today!
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