It’s been a long hot summer, but relief is just around the corner. The days are getting shorter and soon the water temperatures will be dropping back into the 70’s. Once the water cools, the redfish and snook fishing will heat up.

Mid-to-late September, and especially, October ushers in some of the best redfish action Tampa Bay has to offer. The redfish spawning season really amps up mid-to-late fall. I’ve had clients catch 40” redfish numerous times during October. As a matter of fact, my best redfish outing ever happened during the month of October. In one particular instance, during a five-hour charter, three clients managed to land 96 redfish. You can read about redfish in more detail on my websites about redfish page.

When pursuing redfish, I always keep an eye out for mullet. The Tampa Bay mullet run is at its peak right now and tapers off by December, so mullet are everywhere. This in conjunction with the annual redfish spawn makes for a winning combination. Redfish like to travel with mullet, and here’s why. Mullet travel in schools and feed on seagrasses, micro crustaceans, and microalgae. As they forage across the grass flats, they flush out baitfish and crustaceans from their hiding places. Redfish trail along so they can scoop up what the mullet doesn’t eat.

These shorter days and lower water temperatures make for excellent snook fishing and will remain so until the season closure on December 1. I can also honestly say, I have never seen as much bait in Tampa Bay as there is right now. Bait is literally on every grass flat. This has snook in a feeding frenzy. Snook can be found adjacent to most mangrove points and mangroves that line deep water channels. As always, do some live bait chumming before casting a bait out to increase your chances at a hookup. Continuous chumming helps keep the bite going allowing you to catch numerous snook before moving on to the next spot.

As for seatrout, there’s no shortage in Tampa Bay. They seem to be just about everywhere there’s bait. Seatrout fishing is best on a moving tide, so I always check the tide chart for my fishing location and plan accordingly. Most of the time when fishing grass flats it’s best to use a bobber to keep your bait out of the grass where the fish can see it. Once a fish takes the bobber under, wait two to three seconds before setting the hook.

There are a couple of methods for targeting seatrout. You can drift the flats and let the wind and tide take you along, or you can anchor your boat. When using artificial lures, it’s best to drift. When using live bait, I’ve found it’s best to anchor and fish an area before moving slightly down the flat. While anchored I chum with live bait which floats down tide and draws fish to the boat. Doing so not only attracts seatrout, but on some grass flats ladyfish, jack crevalle, Spanish mackerel and the occasional shark and cobia.

The Spanish mackerel fishing is still going strong, and they are big, some reaching four to five pounds. They’re feeding around the bay area bridges, over submerged rock piles, spoil islands adjacent to channels, artificial reefs and on some of the bays deep-water grass flats.

Typically, there are about two more solid months of excellent fishing on the grass flats throughout Tampa Bay until the cool fronts start. Once three or four cold fronts move through the area and the water temperature drops below 70 degrees and the bait leaves the flats. When this happens it’s a whole different ball game.

Afishionado, “Adventures in Fishing.”

If you enjoyed reading my fishing report, you should check out my most recent post. Please like my Facebook Page to receive updates. For charter reservations call/text Wade at 813-286-3474.

If you’ve never achieved an “Inshore Slam” now is the time!

Every year when spring rolls around, the grass flats throughout Tampa Bay come alive. As baitfish start moving onto the flats, snook, redfish and seatrout follow. When this occurs, it’s the easiest time to achieve an inshore slam. If you don’t know what that is, it’s when you catch slot-size (or over) snook, redfish and seatrout on the same outing.

Now many of you may think that should be easy. Well, it’s easier said than done for some people. You’d be surprised how many people have been fishing with me that have never caught a slam. Occasionally, I meet a few anglers who have lived in the Tampa Bay area and fished all their life, but the slam still eludes them.

If an inshore slam is something you would like to pursue, you might assume that catching a slot-size seatrout would be the easiest. Not necessarily, at times it can be the most difficult to land. That’s why many times, I’ll start out fishing around some sandy potholes on the grass flats trying to catch the seatrout first. If I have no success, I’ll move on snook and redfish and come back to seatrout to close the deal.

While in pursuit, here’s where I look for that snook and redfish.

With water temperatures back in the low 70s snook are moving out of the back bays, creeks, and rivers and seeking shelter along the mangrove shorelines and points. Snook feed best on a good tidal flow. Some days it may vary whether they prefer an incoming or outgoing. So, just make sure the current is moving.

To get the action going, I toss out a few live scaled sardines and wait for the snook to respond by attacking the freebies. Once they start feeding, I have you cast a hooked live sardine to the same spot for an instant hook up. If you get lucky, you’ll be able to catch numerous snook in the same spot and also land one over 28 inches.

If I’m fishing during an incoming tide and it’s reaching its peak, move on to redfish.

Redfish like to feed on crustaceans around oyster beds and barnacle encrusted mangrove roots during a high tide. Redfish also like to travel with mullet. The reason: mullet flush baitfish and crustaceans out of the grass as they feed. Anytime I spot a school of mullet I get out in front of them and Power Pole down.

In either scenario, I always start by chumming with scaled sardines. After that, you cast a bait out that’s suspended under a cork. Once the cork goes under, give the fish 2-3 seconds to eat the bait, then when you reel and get your line tight, lift your rod for a solid hook set.

Let’s say after a day on the water you caught all three inshore slam species, but they weren’t all big fish. You still achieved a slam, just not an official inshore slam. There’s always next time.

Spanish mackerel make their presence at the mouth of Tampa Bay and slowly end up all the way past the Countney Campbell Causeway. Early on I mainly catch them around the bridges, artificial reefs, and range markers. As time goes on, Spanish mackerel start moving onto the grass flats as they feed on baitfish. There have been times when I’ve caught them in as little as two feet of water.

Some people claim Spanish mackerel aren’t good table fare. Not true. The key to good fillets is to ice the fish down immediately and always cut the bloodline out when filleting.

Afishionado, “Always an Adventure.”

Tampa fishing guide Wade Osborne, president of “Afishionado Guide Services” has been plying the waters of Tampa Bay as a professional full-time captain, since 1997. Osborne has been featured on numerous TV and radio shows and writes for multiple publications. Osborne offers inshore fishing charters on light tackle spin, fly or plug. He also offers eco-tours with an emphasis on photography.

If you enjoyed reading my fishing report, you should check out my most recent post. Please like my Facebook Page to receive updates. For charter reservations call/text Wade at 813-286-3474.

If you’ve never eaten snook, your chance is coming up. Beginning September 1st through December 1st, snook are open to harvest. Clients ask me all the time how they taste, and I always reply, better than a grouper. Those who know would hungrily agree. The size limit on the Gulf coast for snook ranges between 28-inches and 33-inches. There is also a daily recreational bag limit of one per harvester.

The three species that have been most cooperative lately are mangrove snapper, Spanish mackerel, and seatrout.

Mangrove snapper are feeding heavily around most bridge pilings, rocky shorelines, and artificial reefs. Once anchored or spot locked, I always chum with fresh cut bait or live bait to get the action going. If there’s some tidal movement, I’ll put a small piece of split shot just above the hook to get the bait down. Most of the time when the snapper begin to feed Spanish mackerel start showing up in the same spot. Then it’s pure mayhem. Between snapper occasionally getting you hung up in structure and mackerel cutting off your hook with their sharp teeth, I find myself constantly rigging.

As for the seatrout, they bite best on a strong moving tidal flow. Tampa Bay is dotted with grass flats throughout, so I just pick a flat and work it over. I concentrate most of my efforts around the sandy potholes scattered about the flats. I like to Power-Pole down and work one section at a time.

In closing, more than ever, I keep an eye out for manatees. Manatees typically mate between March and September, with multiple male manatees competing to breed with a female.
Manatee mating herds are interesting to watch as several bulls (males) pursue a cow (female) until she is ready to mate. For everyone’s safety, I watch these mating herds from a distance as the animals are focused on mating and do not heed intruders in their midst. It’s also important to remember, touching or disturbing manatees is not only illegal, but can also be extremely dangerous.

Afishionado, “Always an Adventure.”

If you enjoyed reading my fishing report, you should check out my most recent post. Please like my Facebook Page to receive updates. For charter reservations call/text Wade at 813-286-3474.

For pure excitement, it’s hard to beat the Spanish mackerel and bonnethead shark fishing right now, especially, if you have kids on board. Both species are being caught in the same location and by using the same tactics. Hard bottom or along the edges of deep grass flats are the places I find both.

I first anchor or spot-lock my boat. Then I start a fresh bait chum slick by drifting chunks of cut bait fish down current. For bait on the hook, I have my clients free-line small to medium sized white bait or medium to large shrimp. That’s right, shrimp! Some days bonnethead sharks prefer shrimp. To help prevent cut-offs, use a long shank hook tied onto a three-foot section of 30lb. fluorocarbon leader. Fluorocarbon works better than wire leader because it increases the number of strikes.

The snook spawn is in full swing this month, which also means they’re closed to harvest until September. Snook spawn along deep-water mangrove shorelines, in the passes, around deep-water structures, and bridges. They will remain in these locations throughout the summer. A strong moving incoming or outgoing tide are usually the best for the most action.

Mangrove Snapper in their spawn in also. During this time, they are extremely aggressive and will absolutely devour baits as soon as they hit the water. Many times, my clients catch Mangrove snapper while fishing for snook and redfish along mangrove shorelines. “They don’t call them Mangrove snapper for nothing!” When I just want to target them, I anchor near bridge pilings or over structure and you guessed it, start a chum slick.

The redfish bite was inconsistent inshore last month, but it’s improving since the rainy season has started. When looking for redfish, I always check out oyster beds and look for mullet. The reason behind looking for mullet is that redfish often travel with them.

If you enjoyed reading my fishing report, you should check out my most recent post. Please view my Facebook Page to watch a video of John reeling in a redfish. For charter reservations call/text Wade at 813-286-3474.

“Afishionado, Always an Adventure!”