Fly fishing in Tampa bay and around Clearwater beach has been exceptional the past month. The water temperatures are cooling down but the fishing has remained hot! Snook have been on fire before our cold fronts and the redfish and trout love the highly oxygenated water the cold temperatures bring. When the whitebait or scaled sardines have been abundant they have been the bait to imitate but our inshore species won’t hesitate to eat a well placed shrimp imitation. Fishing the incoming tides after our big low tides on our moon phases has brought the best success for redfish and trout. When targeting snook in the winter months, I like to look for an outgoing tide in the afternoon. This water is normally a degree or two warmer than the incoming and can often generate a good bite.
Bluefish, Mackerel and bonita have also stolen the show on multiple occasions this past month. Fishing flats adjacent to deeper water or close to the passes has been the best.
