Last Updated on October 19, 2024 by Capt. Bucky
Well it has been a crazy couple of weeks. First Hurricane Helene came through and flooded everything with the insane storm surge. Then Hurricane Milton rips through the state with unimaginable amounts of wind and rain while people were still trying to recover from the first storm. Needless to say, it is going to be a long time before some of these places can fully recovery. The long road ahead is something Floridians are built to handle. Together as a community we will build back stronger than from before. Don’t let the news scare you from coming to Tampa or anywhere in Florida for that matter. There are still plenty of places to stay and things to do, and a lot of business could really use your support. I am happy to say that Tampa Bay, besides some wind battered docks and mangrove shorelines, the fishing remains the same and Fall has some of the best fishing all year.
I have experienced quite a few cancellations around the storms, but I am pleased to say that Everything in my area is open and the fishing is great. The redfish are entering their annual spawning season. The fish are schooling up and feeding aggressively. Right before the storms we landed 54 redfish one day with the fish ranging from 25 to 35 inches. Double after double after double hookups. If I had more anglers on the boat we would have been tripling and quadrupling up. It was an absolute insane redfish bite and I know its going to be great throught the next month and a half.
The snook bite is also solid. I went out scouting and just to run my boat yesterday. The white bait is plentiful and steadily increasing in size! First spot I hit, first bait in the water I landed a 35″ snook. Followed that with a 30″ and a 27″ on back to back casts. Caught a few more snook before the dolphins decided to show up. I only left to save what remaining snook there were lives. The snook will remain out on the flats until the water temperatures drop to the point where they make their way back into the warmer creeks and canals.
If you can plan your trip around some incoming to high tides you will most definitely be rewarded with an excellent bite. On the days with lower tides the fish will push out onto the edges of the flats or make their way into the canals. The redfish will get on the flats in schools and tail while searching for forage. This is a great time to try your luck at artificial or be patient with cut bait and let them come to you. Focus on the areas that have concentrated schools of mullet.
Like I said before, the live bait situation seems great and the size of the bait is steadily increasing. Pinfish have also been plentiful as well as ladyfish. Redfish love cut ladyfish as well as live or cut pinfish. Somedays I could run an entire trip just chunking dead bait. One great thing about cut bait is big lazy snook will also pickup a piece of cut bait. On windy days you can sit out on a flat and just wait for the fish to come to you. Fishing is fun!!
I have plenty of availability and would love for the opportunity to catch a memory with you that will last a lifetime. Looking forward to hearing from you as all of us Floridians could really use your love and support. My thoughts and prayers go out to all that have been adversely affected by the storms! God Bless Everyone!
Capt. Bucky Goldman