Early in the week fishing was stellar… big trout continued to be a solid target and the redfish were cooperating early in the morning (tailing).  Then the high barometric pressure and east wind settled in on Wednesday & Thursday and made things a lot tougher! 

Once again the bigger quality trout are up shallow lying in depressions and striking bigger slow moving soft plastics on 4/0 and 5/0 rigging hooks (no weight).  The slower the presentation the better for the “gator sized” (up to 25″) trout… exercise extreme patience it’s worth it!  Trout in the 16″ to 20″ range were slamming Mirrodines in the deeper potholes around Fort Desoto and Tierra Verde… the old twitch, twitch, pause cadence will get them on the hook.

I’ve noticed more and more redfish (schools) starting to creep up on the flats in the Tampa Bay.  But the super clear water and blue skies make them extremely skittish.  Long casts with natural colored soft plastics worked naturally, not eratically, will put a few on the rod each morning.  You have to be stealthy and use the wind to your advantage if your going to have any success with these reds.

I expect the high barometric pressure to start easing off today and this weekend’s front is forecasted as mild… and fishing should improve again after the wind settles down.  With much of the bait killed off by the big freeze… some fishing areas haven’t gotten into a regular rythm as of yet, making for challenging outings.  Don’t get frustrated… the normal patterns will return soon enough, just get out and fish!

I’d be remiss not to mention the snook around my area… I’ve seen a couple (alive) and hopefully there are many more that remain hunkered down until this winter moderates even more.  I don’t see myself targeting these snook again for awhile until we have a little bit better idea of the surviving population.  But I do believe they will comeback in good numbers relatively soon, especially if we manage them the proper way.