Keep an eye on the tides, weather for a successful day of fishing
As we settle into the third week of May, anglers are experiencing similar conditions as last week, which is resulting in good action for inshore and nearshore fishing.
Keep an eye on the tides this week as we should see some good afternoon outgoing tides, which should trigger a good bite on the flats. Although water temps are around the rise, the afternoon tides should produce some great snook fishing as these fish stage up in areas where clean, clear water is flushing out of the bays and rivers carrying a smorgasbord of small bait, fish and shrimp — creating the perfect recipe for a feeding frenzy.
Spotted seatrout and redfish will also be in on the action, which should provide quite a variety of options of what to target and where to target them.
These strong outgoing tides provide another opportunity which comes in the form of pass crabs. Anglers targeting tarpon or permit have these tides marked on their calendars as this is the time to go out and catch the crabs for bait for the next morning.
Scooping crabs in the passes during the strong outgoing tides can be quite productive yielding 30-50 crabs per tide for the angler. And, if you have a bait pen hanging off a dock then these crabs will still be alive for quite a few days as long as they are fed daily, and are in an area were good, clean water flow exists.
On a final note, it is time for us to start experiencing afternoon thunderstorms, which typically occur this time of year, so if you’re out there, always keep a watchful eye on the horizon. The storms contain strong winds and plenty of lightning, which makes for dangerous conditions on the water so don’t get caught out there in the middle of one.
On my own Just Reel charters, I’m still seeing plenty of catch-and-release snook being caught. Most catches are falling 20-26 inches although fish up to 34 inches are mixed in. Early morning action seems to be the best before the heat of the day settles in.
Redfish are mixed in with the snook bite, which is always a welcome sight. Targeting spotted seatrout is going well depending on location. Deep grass flats in Tampa Bay are producing good numbers of slot-size fish. Fishing structure in the Gulf is also providing action, especially for larger over-slot fish.
