FIshing Holes will be Revealed in Low Water

The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 24, 2008

Winter fishing conditions have been in effect for the past few weeks with lots of wind, some rain and fickle temperatures. It will be hard to plan a fishing trip in advance for the next few months because of regular cold fronts.

Wind is the culprit, and when it blows harder than 15 knots out of the north with extreme low tides, it really limits where you can fish. On the bright side, it's a good time to explore, even if the fishing is slow. Clear water and low tides show you holes that are invisible the rest of the year, and the safest way to look for them is at idle speed. Also be aware that tides can be much lower than forecast, when the wind is out of the north. It pushes water out of the bay, and getting caught inside a sandbar on a cold windy day is no fun.

Another result of extremely low tides is that it puts manatees in harms way. In December and January, I see many manatees just outside the six-foot line between the E.G. Simmons Park boat ramp and Apollo Beach. If you run on plane here, it is advisable to stay 100 yards or so off the poles that mark the manatee zone. I saw several manatees there earlier this month, just outside the poles; so take care. Even if they could read the signs, there is not enough water for manatees inside the zone on spring tides in the winter months.

I was surprised to see several pods of bait on the flats in front of Sand Key last week. The big sardines were in tight clusters but scattered. It's surprising to see bait in shallow water in December.

The sheepshead bite is still on in the Little Manatee River. We've been catching fish by casting live shrimp at the dock pilings around the mouth of the river, and some of the fish have been good-sized. A few flounder, also caught on live shrimp, have also found their way into the frying pan.

Trout season reopens New Year's Day, and there appears to be plenty of big trout on the flats in front of Cockroach Bay. Limit stays the same as it was - four fish between 15 and 20 inches, with one fish over the 20-inch limit allowed. Trout are not particularly sturdy, so handle them with wet hands and use a hook remover to release the fish.

When fishing for a trout dinner, I like to have a cooler half full of ice on board. Trout flesh is delicate and will quickly turn to mush unless it's iced. For the best-eating fish, ice them as soon as they are caught, gut the fish as soon as they're dead and return them to the ice.

My last trip was south of the Little Manatee River, and I caught a single redfish on the flats on a high-falling tide. I couldn't get anything to hit a variety of artificial lures, so I finally put the anchor out and rigged a chunk of frozen ladyfish on a jig. I caught one oversized redfish and a couple of hard head catfish on the cut bait.

Fred Everson is a Ruskin fishing guide. All South Shore fishermen and guides may submit information and photographs to be included in this column by calling (813) 830-8890 or sending an e-mail to ihuntsnook@aol.com.