New Year Brings Some Great Versatility

If you like mild weather and sunny days mixed with some great fishing then Tampa Bay is the place for you. While most of the country is shoveling snow and ice we have been catching nice Trout, Redfish, and Cobia this time of year. Although we do get some cold days they typically don’t hang around and temperatures quickly climb back into the mid 70s and fishing picks right back up. It’s a great time to visit Tampa and book a charter.

Trout is our highlighted species this time of year with just about every grass flat holding tons of Trout. On charters we are targeting Sea Trout with Zman soft plastic artificial baits. If you are a novice and have always wanted to throw artificial baits then Trout is a great fish to target. You will catch a ton of fish without having to be very technical. We are also having a good bit of success using live shrimp suspended under a Cajun Thunder float. Both have been very successful tactics when fishing for Trout.

Redfish is also a good species to target this time of year and while most of a bit smaller catching Reds on artificial baits is an awesome experience. With water clarity being great this time of year sight cast for Reds on the flats as small schools of fish move into the potholes around the back country. If water temperatures are lower from a passing cold front then we might opt to using a free lined live shrimp. This is also a great technique for reds as they are naturally bottom feeders. Cooler water temperatures make redfish fight that much harder.

Sheep head (AKA Convict fish) is another species that is a great fish to catch. They are also one of the most overlooked fish but they should not be as they are one of the best fighting and tasting inshore fish. Using #1 Daiichi circle hook tipped with a small shrimp will be the best way to catch Sheep head. They are structure oriented fish so any type of wreck or rocky ledge will be holding the big breeders. You will have a blast catching Sheep head.

If you are visiting the Tampa area for the winter and would like to get out and do some fishing, give us a call at 813-727-9890 or email us at captjasonp@gmail.com I promise you it will be worth the trip. Tight Lines!