Thursday, December 27th, 2007
Quality Fish
We again had a negative low tide this morning in the Tarpon Springs area so I asked Curtis and Nikki if they wouldn't mind starting the day when the tide was coming in. So I picked them up at the ramp around 10am and we headed off to try and find some low water trout. The bite was slow but just as the rest of the day would play out, it was a quality bite. We didn't catch a ton of fish today but the ones we did catch pulled drag. If you ask me, one drag puller is worth 25 dinks.
We landed trout from 18"-25" and redfish from 24"-27". The first few trout of the day were caught on white/red tail curly tail grubs and rootbeer colored curly tail grubs fished on 1/4oz. jigheads. The redfish were caught again today on cut pinfish around oyster bars and mangrove points. They didn't want anything to do with a live baitfish. All I can assume is that the lower water temp has them a little sluggish and looking for an easy meal. The last few, and biggest trout of the day, were caught on cut pinfish as well. I've never caught trout on cut pinfish before this week and yet we've managed to boat 5 trout fishing like that this week.
Hopefully as we get farther away from the full moon the number of bites we get will increase again. That's the only thing I can think of that has slowed the bite down a tad. Oh well... we may not have caught the huge numbers of fish on the last two trips but the fish were good fighters and have been on the larger side.
Quality Fish
We again had a negative low tide this morning in the Tarpon Springs area so I asked Curtis and Nikki if they wouldn't mind starting the day when the tide was coming in. So I picked them up at the ramp around 10am and we headed off to try and find some low water trout. The bite was slow but just as the rest of the day would play out, it was a quality bite. We didn't catch a ton of fish today but the ones we did catch pulled drag. If you ask me, one drag puller is worth 25 dinks.
We landed trout from 18"-25" and redfish from 24"-27". The first few trout of the day were caught on white/red tail curly tail grubs and rootbeer colored curly tail grubs fished on 1/4oz. jigheads. The redfish were caught again today on cut pinfish around oyster bars and mangrove points. They didn't want anything to do with a live baitfish. All I can assume is that the lower water temp has them a little sluggish and looking for an easy meal. The last few, and biggest trout of the day, were caught on cut pinfish as well. I've never caught trout on cut pinfish before this week and yet we've managed to boat 5 trout fishing like that this week.
Hopefully as we get farther away from the full moon the number of bites we get will increase again. That's the only thing I can think of that has slowed the bite down a tad. Oh well... we may not have caught the huge numbers of fish on the last two trips but the fish were good fighters and have been on the larger side.
Tampa Bay Fishing
Captain Clay Eavenson
813-300-2147
http://www.captainclay.com/
gofishing@captainclay.com
By this time, the schools of bait had flooded the flats and brought the hungry predators into the shallows. The fish pictured below were found in the afternoon, roaming in water less than two feet deep in an area where the grass flats are punctuated by sandy potholes. 
(This was on the same day as the photos above – note the difference in sky, sun, water surface and clothing)Winter also brings us a different mix of species. Redfish and trout remain the solid staple of our inshore fishery. This time of year they are joined by black drum and pompano. Our most tropical species, such as snook and tarpon, require a warmer environment and either migrate south or push deep inland into the canals, creeks and rivers feeding our main waterways. However, we may still find a few of these fish in their summer haunts like the snook hooked on Christmas day in the Titusville area. (Pictured below is Crystal with a small black drum caught recently in the Melbourne/Sebastian area)
During extended periods of very cold days (usually three to four days in a row), our fish generally struggle to keep warm by slipping into the deepest troughs available. This packs the fish into smaller confines and can make for some awesome fishing … provided you know where to look for them and what to do when you find them.The bottom line for winter fishing in our area is adapt, adapt, adapt! The patterns so predictable last month may prove so fruitless the next. The tactics proved so deadly last week may be so ineffective the next. The locations where fish were so plentiful in the morning may become a desert by afternoon. Winter fishing can be wonderful if you are able to adapt, adapt, adapt.
Larger trout have been holding in the same depth as the redfish and are extremely easy to catch. Jigging darker color soft plastics has been the key to these fish. A popping cork and a shrimp is also a very productive combination. Night fishing tends to be a lot more productive. The redfish are extremely concentrated in the underwater lights. The underwater lights warm up the water around them and are more productive than above water lights.
The snook have been hard to get to eat. The key to hooking these fish is to get a well full of whitebait and chum the lights heavily. Slip in the biggest whitebaits that you have in with the chummers and you will have success!
Robb didn't land the big fish, however he was the Jack Crevalle king of the day for sure.Quick-Release Anchor set upAt times both inshore and near shore I find line being stripped off my light tackle reels at a rate that requires me to detach the anchor and follow the fish. This is necessary not only to get more line back on the reel, it's also necessary to keep the fish out of structure such as docks, crab buoy lines, other anglers fishing lines, and anchor rodes. I have one anchor, chain, and shackle for this purpose, and two different lengths of anchor line. Depending on where I'm fishing determines which length I will use. Inshore I carry a thirty foot section of line and for near shore reefs I carry seventy-five foot section. Length of line will vary depending on the size of your boat, mine is twenty-three feet. I attach a float at the boat end of each line, a large cork float for the inshore set-up and a small fender for the near shore set-up. When anchoring up I tie two half hitches, however only over the front horn of the cleat, this way I only have to grab the slack end of the line and pull to release the anchor. There are a few safety concerns, watch that angler, you don't want to gun the boat and possibly cause a fall. Also, keep an eye behind you when backing. It's very easy to get excited about the angler and his fish, losing site of what your about to run over. One nice benefit about using this set-up aside from the obvious being you just landed a big fish on lite tackle, is that you end up back in the exact location you just left and don't have the hassle of re-anchoring. Hope this tip helps you to have a better chance of getting that big one to the boat on lite tackle - Good Luck.Tight Lines & Good Times, 
On Friday, I fished Mosquito Lagoon with Capt. Ron Presley of Cocoa Beach. We spent most of the day targeting the numerous black drum in 1-2 feet of water. We both caught black drum on soft plastic crabs and spooked a ton of big trout. The black drum normally do not eat the wide range of artificial lures that redfish will. The most effective technique was to slowly drag the crab along the bottom in front of the fish. If you are not getting bites, slow down even more.The drum were in schools of 10-200 and could be seen crossing the sandy patches.This Monday, Al from Orlando returned for his second trip. This time he brought his friend Danny from England. Within ten minutes, Al had the first redfish of the day to the boat that he caught casting a 4 inch DOA CAL to a group of tailing fish.We spent the next couple hours casting to redfish with not much success. When the sun got up, the drum appeared. 
Danny scored first with a drum of about ten pounds. A short while later, both guys we hooked up to some smaller drum.Al caught a trout to complete his Mosquito Lagoon slam and we moved on to look for some bigger fish. We found several schools finning and tailing and both Al and Danny caught some nice drum.We spent the end of the day trying to get Danny his red for the slam. We saw some reds and had some shots but it just didn't work out. Still, it was an excellent day.
The next day, I had two fly fishermen from New York. The skies were clear and the winds light. We probably did not go for five minutes the entire day without having fish near the boat. It was their first time sight fishing for redfish and my anglers could not quite get the fly to the fish. Shallow water sight fishing requires stealth and quick accurate casts. If you are missing any one of these elements, the level of success diminishes. Although my anglers were questioning whether or not the fish were willing to eat, the fact that they were tailing aggressively, proves they were. The guys were dedicated to the fly, though, and stuck with it to the end. Even though we had at least 100 shots at fish, none came to the boat.Thursday, I took my flyrods and friend Capt. Tom Van Horn back to see if the redfish were still tailing. Capt. Tom let me go first and I landed three redfish and pulled the hook on five more within twenty minutes on an olive #2 crab pattern. We saw some black drum but could not get any shots at them and we both spooked quite a few redfish that were tailing and finning. Tom and I caught six or seven redfish and a few trout including a beauty of about 28 inches that Tom landed along the edge of a shallow flat.Friday, I was joined by two ladies from Orlando, Debbie and Connie. Although the weather was still warm, the leading edge of a front had moved in bringing clouds and wind. The redfish that had been so plentiful all week, were few and far between. We saw only three tailing reds the entire day. Fortunately, the trout and drum were much more cooperative. The women started the day catching around a dozen trout on four inch CAL tails in Arkansas Glow and Stark Naked.
Next, Connie landed back to back black drum around fifteen pounds and Debbie caught her first drum also.We left the drum biting to make one more attempt at some redfish to complete the slam. I spotted several reds moving away in front of the boat. Debbie cast here CAL tail towards them and her line came tight with what we thought was the first red of the day.
Instead, it turned out to be here largest trout to date. We never did catch a redfish but it was still another excellent winter day in Florida.If you are looking for some Christmas gifts for the fisherman in your family, visit Mosquito Creek Outdoors in Apopka. Everything in their fishing department is 20% off.
Capt. Andy Cotton, from Sarasota, FL, caught and released this nice pompano on a fly while fishing Sarasota Bay with his father-in-law, Capt. Rick Grassett.
