Friday things finally felt more like Florida. Officially its not yet December but with Tampa Bay waters around 51 degrees it feels like February.
Captain Steven is targeting mid to late winter trout holes with good success. Today was an all artificial day tossing DOA 3” CAL shad in water 5-10’ deep. We started with 1/8 oz jigs but moved up to ¼ oz as the jig had to be right on the bottom.
The first 2 stops on deep grass flats resulted in a big goose egg. Find warmer water and I knew we would find trout. Winter fishing 101 on Tampa Bay means fishing residential canals with deep dark bottoms. Combine the depth with concrete canal walls and you often are rewarded with fast action.
The first cast in a Tierra Verde canal resulted in our first trout. Most of the trout were 13-15” and very plentiful. Think slow very slow and hug the bottom. I often see my anglers speed up their retrieve when the action picks up and their bite stops. Spotted sea trout will even hit soft plastic jerk baits while sitting motionless.
I got an exciting sheepshead report from Captain Little Jim Fesperman. Jim reported catching numerous 3-5 convict fish on pieces of shrimp along dock poles. Target the oldest docks, its easy to see old from new.
