West Central Florida Fishing Forecast 1/7/11

West Central Florida Fishing Report

Aripeka to Longboat Key
Includes Hudson, New Port Richey, Anclote Key, Tarpon Springs, Dunedin, Clearwater, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Anna Maria Island and Bradenton.

January 7-9

A string of good weather days may have come to a brief ending if weather predictions are on target. Days with 70s in the reports were closer to normal for this time of year, but a brief change with some lows in the 40s may be heading our way to start the weekend off.

OFFSHORE

Gag grouper are closed in federal waters for the next 6 months. Other fish to target may be options if you want to get out and bend a rod farther than 9 miles from shore, but according to Capt. Dave Zalewski, the 60-foot mark has been loaded with fish. Zalewski has been targeting white grunts, and recently has been putting upward of 80 grunts a day in the box. The mild white flaky fillets from these fish are delicious, but not often kept. But the secret of their table appeal may be out of the bag. While hitting the 60-foot mark, Zalewski said he also released a pair of gags measuring 29 and 30 inches respectively. For those looking to score some grouper in state waters, these fish are still a possibility if you’re willing to go through some shorts in the process.

Offshore springs beyond 30 miles are producing some nice amberjack. Chumming these fish to the surface is a possibility, allowing them to be fished on lighter tackle in the 20- to 30-pound class. For deep-jigging near the bottom, 50-to 80-pound grouper rigs may give you more power to muscle some of the bigger brutes up off the bottom.

INSHORE

Trout fishing has been the buzz this week as the season-opener last Saturday had anglers looking for some fish to take home. Reports on the entire Suncoast have been positive. Capt. Rick Grassett, of the Snook Fin-Addict out of CB Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, reported having some excellent action on Sarasota Bay with fly anglers this week. Fishing with Ft. Myers guide, Capt. Rick DePaiva, they caught and released several undersized redfish and 40-or-so trout on fly, a good day in anybody’s book. Capt. William Toney, out of Homosassa, reported limits of trout being caught on D.O.A. Shrimp in the Homosassa River and also in King's Bay in the Crystal River. The hot spot on cold clear days has been the Crystal River power plant. Similar action down in Anclote at the power plant has been taking place, as has the Weedon Island and Apollo Beach power plants. Action is good on cold days, but fish spread out and leave when the weather turns nice.

Trout in the Terra Ceia area have been cooperative as well with good action on D.O.A. shrimp, C.A.L. jigs, TTR18 MirrOlures, and the new 18MR MirrOlure Heavy Dine. Anglers fishing the dropoffs near channel edges are doing well. Water ranging from 5 to 8 feet deep are holding good numbers of trout.

Redfish have been laid up in the shallows over dark muddy bottoms sunning themselves this week. The occasional overcast day, and on Tuesday when fog rolled into the Tampa Bay area, sent fish to deeper water, but on sunny days, the shallows were where reds were found that would eat. Long casts with light jigheads kept most fish from being spooked. Anglers working jerk worms like the CAL, Exude RT Slug, and MirrOlure Lil’ John slowly along the bottom are getting strikes. Stink baits like the Berkly Gulp! have been effective for anglers dead- sticking the lures and fishing them like cut bait.

Assortments of other fish are being caught inshore. Flounder, bluefish, black sea bass, and juvenile gag grouper can still be caught in the shallows. Sheepshead are beginning to fatten up for the upcoming spawning season between February and March. Anglers fishing the pilings around the Gandy Bridge are doing well with sheepies. Silver trout are beginning to show along the beaches in some areas from Blind Pass off St. Petersburg to Clearwater in about 14 feet of water. Inside Tampa Bay, deep holes off Riviera Bay on the St. Petersburg side have been holding fish in 16 to 20 feet of water. Some holes north of there to Weedon Island are also holding some fish. Anglers fishing the Manatee River channel up near the Green Bridge reported catching a few “sugar trout” as some call them there. Loves’ Lures tandem rigged jigs work well on these fish, and tipping them with a bit of fresh shrimp sometimes improves the bite.

FRESH WATER

Bass may show signs of beginning to hit the beds for some areas, but the real deal is the crappie bite that has been steadily improving. Look for speckled perch to be in some of the deeper areas of Lake Tarpon. Drift several rigs at multiple depths with Missouri minnows to find a school. Drop a marker and return upwind to repeat the drift for best action.

Report courtesy of Capt. Ray Markham

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West Central Florida Fishing Forecast 12/24

West Central Florida Weekend Fishing Forecast for Dec 24th thru 26

West Central Florida Fishing:
From Aripeka to Longboat Key which includes Hudson, New Port Richey, Anclote Key, Tarpon Springs, Dunedin, Clearwater, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Anna Maria Island and Bradenton.

Capt Ray says:

It’s only right to expect cold weather for the Christmas holidays and the holiday season this time of year. The weather prognosticators have been a bit off lately, but the patterns seem to be similar each week. The weather warms up through about Friday. The winds lay down, and by the weekend, it starts to go back downhill into another front. This holiday weekend’s prediction is for similar weather, but don’t let that hold you back and keep you from going fishing, unless you’re headed offshore, then a more prudent approach should be taken.

For you OFFSHORE Fishermen

The weatherman has made it tough on offshore anglers looking to get out before grouper season closes next Saturday, January 1. Federal waters will become off limits for grouper at that time. The inshore waters remain open and plenty of grouper have been caught inside Tampa Bay and the channel running in from Egmont Key, well inside the bay. While this may not qualify as offshore, Tampa Bay can get mighty mean if the winds are blowing, and an offshore boat is the only way to get out and get them. Trolling a number 2 or 3 planer with a big Bubba’s Curly Tail Jig on a heavy jighead is a favorite of top trolling skippers like Vance Tice and Channel 13’s Doug Hemmer.

Captain Dave Zalewski out of Madeira Beach likes a broken-back gold Bomber lure. Trolling is a good way to find fish, and using a downrigger is best, since the approach to the fish is “up and down” with some blowback from the downrigger ball. Hitting the waypoint save button and using the plot feature on your bottom machine could bring you back to the mark where you were hit to anchor up for some bottom time.

Not much else was reported this week, with the weather taking its toll. Water temperature has dropped to the low 50s and frozen bait is the way to go to get lethargic fish to begin eating. Chum should be an absolute necessity, and with the full moon on Tuesday, the current will be running pretty hard, so give fish time to move up your chum slick to feed.

Inshore fishing on Florida's West Coast

At this point, December in the West Central area is on point to rank as one of the top 10 coldest Decembers since records were first taken. NOAA National Weather Service in Ruskin recently said that the average temperature has been running 10 to 12 degrees below normal for December. What should this mean to anglers? Here are a few tips to help you catch more fish in this cold weather.

Well, for starters, make sure your start time on the water is later in the morning or early afternoon when the sun has a chance to begin warming shallow waters. This should help fish get more in a feeding mood. Presentations should be ultra slow.

Reports this week were limited, but the ones received were similar. The bite was slow in most locations, with trout, redfish, flounder, sheepshead, and bluefish headlining the catch. Live shrimp have been in limited supply in some areas due to the cold and windy conditions.

If you’re thinking about using jigs or artificial shrimp, now is the time to use the bait with a red, brown or chartreuse tip on the tail. Working these baits slowly on the bottom will imitate shrimp that have just come out of the mud, where their tails have been discolored from burying in for several days. The DOA night glow/ fire tail shrimp or the night glow/ chartreuse tipped tail produce exceptionally well now.

Water in most areas is gin clear when out of the wind. Make leaders extra long out of stealthy leader material like Seaguar or Ande fluorocarbon material, or blue Ande Backcountry Copolymer. These materials are nearly invisible in the ultra clear waters during winter. Downsize baits, both natural and artificial to match appetites that are stunned by the cold. Make casts as long as possible to avoid spooking fish. When sight-fishing, don’t drop baits on top of fish, but cast beyond and bring the baits by in front of the fish within their strike zone. Remember, strike zones shrink in cold weather and fish rarely chase down bait. Move both live and artificial baits very slowly. Fresh cut baits and “stink baits” like Berkley Gulp excel when fished in the “dead-stick” mode without moving the bait, particularly with some current or water movement.

FRESH WATER

Work plastic worms slowly around boat docks and structure. Bass have been holding tight to grass beds and deeper structure in the rivers and in the lakes, such as Lake Tarpon. Crappies are beginning to show signs of schooling in Central Florida Lakes. Look for the action to be on the rise this weekend with the full moon this week.

Scott Croner Albert A Rasch Albert “Afghanus” Rasch Albert A Rasch Scott Croner Nebraska Hunting Scott Croner, Merriam's Turkey Hunting Albert A Rasch Scott Croner Albert A Rasch Albert “Afghanus” Rasch Albert A Rasch Scott Croner Nebraska Hunting Scott Croner Merriam's Turkey Hunting Albert A Rasch