BACK TO SCHOOL!!

Monster Snook
And no I don't mean the kids...although they are going back to school too...I'm talking Redfish! After taking a little time off from Tampa Bay, the red drum have made a strong late summer push with good numbers of quality fish being caught. Also, the bait! The amount of scaled sardines and threadfin herring currently in the bay is ridiculous!  There are literally acres of them at times. Of course not far behind are the feisty mackerel, sharks and bluefish. The significant rains we had recently has cooled the water temps down some which was something we desperately needed, especially for our shallow water species such as the snook which get sluggish when the water is over 90 degrees. The best action for them has been in the mornings and late afternoons as just a few degrees of water temp can turn them on and off. It has been an excellent year for snook. I've had a number of anglers smash their personal bests with some real trophies over the last few weeks. 

The mangrove snapper bite has continued strong and most anglers are taking advantage of this and throwing at least a few of these super tasty fish in the cooler. Speaking of tasty fish, it has been a great summer for tripletail too. I don't target these prehistoric creatures often but they've shown up all thoughout the bay this year. They can be found around any form of structure from buoys and crab traps to docks and floating debris. They will often take a small sardine but will rarely turn down a live shrimp. Aside from being excellent table fare, they are also excellent fighters. Careful handling them too as they have a very sharp gill plate that can ruin your day.

Earlier this year I was again very fortunate to be invited to film another episode of the highly rated TV show "Addictive Fishing" with Capt. Blair Wiggins. They are an outstanding bunch of folks there who run a very professional operation...and some really nice boats! We had great weather and the fish were cooperative as we crushed the kings just outside of Tampa Bay. In case you missed it, or would like to see it again, CLICK HERE Those fish will be on their return trip in the next month or so, so if you want to GO FISHING, call me!! Fall fishing in Tampa Bay is typically outstanding and with the amount of bait we have in the bay right now I see no reason this shouldn't be the case. Come Get Some! Tight Lines, Capt. Chris  (813) 908-6222

Capt Chris with Kingfish