Captain’s Corner: Mike Gore

This will be a good week for fishing with us getting back to our normal weather pattern. It looks like they are calling for a slight Easterly wind all week. So, for at least a week we can get out early, catch some fish and get off the water before it gets too hot. 

On the inshore scene, the redfish have been holding way up under the mangroves on high tide. Try throwing a piece of cut bait way up under the tree line with just enough split shot to keep it on the bottom. Cut bait and live scaled sardines free lined have worked well. Redfish are very heat tolerant and will stay on the flats as the day heats up.

 If you are looking for something to eat in Tampa Bay, then target mangrove snapper and silver trout. You can find them in deeper water throughout the Bay. Mangrove snapper are getting ready to spawn so they bunch up. The best place to catch them is around the shipping channel markers and buoys. Don’t just hold tight to the markers, take your time and do a circle 50 yards away from it as well. There is a lot up live bottom around these markers that will hold fish. You will want to use your bottom machine to find it. Put a chum block out and start cutting bait. Mangrove Snapper have small stomachs though, so cut just enough bait to get them active. This will bring the fish off the bottom and make them easier to catch.  The small fry bait we have in the Bay right now is perfect for this type of fishing.