April ushers in numerous options on the Tampa Bay inshore and near shore scene. With my son n law Ricky down from Boston we set out searching for a mixed bag. From the start it was clear the nasty storms and tornados from Wednesday made a mess of lower Tampa Bay’s flats.
We started at the Skyway Bridge gathering white baits to go along with live shrimp we picked up at O’Neill’s Marina. A quick run to Captain Steven’s sure fire Mackerel spot was a bust! The glass minnows which were thick the last several weeks gone.
Next up were targeted redfish which responded to shrimp but not white baits. The Reds were up tight and deep in the docks and remember you must be on the bottom. Captain Steven moves after 10-15 minutes and head for another dock. Luckily the Reds cooperated for over an hour. We took over 20 reds most small. Mixed in were flounder and sheepshead.
Next up we ran to a nearby grass flat to target trout in 2-5’ of 72 degree waters. Trout to 21” hammered shrimp after shrimp under float while white baits worked the pace was slower. Every 15 minutes like clockwork a Spanish mackerel would crash the party with lightning strikes. When the bite slowed I would use the trolling motor to make short moves as to not spook the schools of trout and redfish.
