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Neil Taylor, Times Correspondent

The opportunities for trout in December are among the best options we have for fishing action around Tampa Bay.     Our past three trips we have caught more than 100 trout which is solid action.    Trout breed year round and hence have the best numbers of any species we have in the area.     Good planning will lead to easy fishing trips if trout are your target.

I like low light conditions:   Sunrise or sunset.     You can catch them with the sun high in the sky but I have found better opportunities when the sun is lower.    The idea of targeting trout is simple:   Fish over grass.    If you are not over grass bottom, you are not into trout.   Go slow and stead with lures.   Trout out five or six inch plastic baits.     Change lengths if the bite isn’t strong.   Occasionally trout will prefer a shorter bait.   Use very light tackle and make the longest casts you can.    The light tackle will lead to better lure action and stronger results.
Areas inside Tampa Bay were unaffected by Red Tide and trout schools have been good inside the Bay all along.   This could be a better choice than areas out front that were closer to the algae bloom.
Neil Taylor charters kayak fishing trips around Tampa Bay and can be reached at 727-692-6345
Neil Taylor
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