Fishing Florida Flats

Fishing report week of July 26 th , 2018 It seems to be raining every day, but the fishing has been great.  You can move away from the thunderstorms.  You can find the Reds & Snooks inshore but the best time to catch them is early in the morning or late in the afternoon with an outgoing tide. Bait of choice has been Greenbacks and there is plenty around first thing in the morning.  After that, the sun forces them to hide in the grass beds.  You will need to use chum to try to get them out of the grass. There are plenty of Snook and Reds in the deeper pockets just look for the darker spots when you are in only a few feet of water.  That is where they will hang out.  Free line a Greenback and give it time.  Do not rush to reel it in.  Offshore the Grouper bite has been great!  You can catch great shallow rock grouper in state waters.  Here are some tips to catching them 1. Use a weight to bring bait to the bottom.  Do ...

https://www.jimmysfishingcharters.com/ Fishing has been good first thing in morning or late at night, if you are planning to fish during the day go deep at least 25 feet of water, the water temperature has hit 86 degrees so do not expect much in shallow waters, the fish are looking for cooler water and cover. Sharks have been coming in at a nice pace just go out a few miles like 5 and use some chum and they will come. Seatrout first thing in morning and the same for reds this pass weekend we went pass a group of at least 25 Reds and they wanted nothing to do with us, we tried everything from Greenback to cut bait and shrimp the water was just too warm for them. We have been seeing a lot of Cobia out in 25 feet of water and some really good size as you can see from photo. So, to end the report fish early or late if you can not do that fish deep a few miles offshore but check the weather and wind before you head out. I also want to tell everyone about a new company that is openin...

Despite the last few days of fast moving storms,  windy conditions and slow tidal movement the bite has not been to bad. Getting out of the wind and finding clean moving water will be the key to success. Not everyone can fish all day every day so maximize your time on the water. Look for areas that are likely to hold the species you are targeting. Keep in mind how a particular species feeds and present your bait of choice in an appropriate manner. If the tailing bronze bombers are on the menu, look for areas that have structure. Mangrove prop roots, oyster bars, docks and piers are all good areas to focus in on. Reds are inferior feeders, meaning there lower jaw is recessed. The best way to present your baits  are on the bottom or in there face.     On the opposite side of the feeding spectrum you have snook. They are superior feeders, having a lower jaw that protrudes past the upper jaw. When a snook hits your bait, there jaw opens wide and fast...

https://www.jimmysfishingcharters.com/ Fishing Report May 16, 2018 Fishing has been great!   I love this time of year!   The water temperature is perfect.   Not to hot, not to cold.   Everything seems to be biting right now, in one day (up in Hudson waters) we landed 8 Cobia in 3 hours.   We also caught King Fish and Mackerel.   We were in 12 feet of water. That same day we brought in 6 Reds and 3 Snooks along the Mangrove line. Then we decided to move from Hudson and head south towards Tarpon.   We were in 10 feet of water and trolled with a plug, hooked onto 3 nice size Gag Grouper.   They are out of season right now.   We ended up on a nice grass flat in about 4 feet of water, just outside a channel, with some rocks and decided to fish for some seatrout.   Threw out some greenbacks and within a few minutes landed 4. One was over 23 inches!   My point is, it doesn’t matter whether you fish shallow or fish deep, the fish ...

Book Your Trip Scalloping season will soon open in Pasco County for the first time in many years. This year, the season will run from July 20 th – 29 th , 2018. The daily bag limit consists of 2 gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell, or 1 pint of bay scallop meat per person. There is a maximum of 10 gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell, or 1/2-gallon bay scallop meat per vessel. Before you head out to look for these delicious delicates, you need to know where to find them, what they look like, and what you will need. Bay scallops live in shallow waters, generally between 4 – 9 feet of water. Normally you will find them nestled in the grass flats. Scallop shells are approximately 3 inches in width and the shell colors can be a sand color to a darker brown, which helps blend in with the gulf floor, a green tint which help them blend with the grass flats, to the lucky orange color. Scallops can also be identified by their blue eyes, that can be seen when the shells a...

Fishing Report 4/10/18 - 4/18/2018 Cobia are here!   We have been doing a great deal of Cobia fishing within the last week.   It felt like within a day they all came back!   Last week we went out and didn’t see any. This week we caught 7 in two hours.   One was 33 inches long. The bait has been hard to find, but there is plenty just south of Tarpon.   I think that will change soon and they will be showing up further north within the next few days.   Snook and Reds are around, but Reds are biting better on live bait.   Seatrout are now in, you can find them on the open flats.   They seem to be still hooked on eating shrimp more so than Greenbacks.   We have also landed a few flounder.   We were not targeting them, but while drift fishing and bouncing a jig off the sand pockets we’ve been hitting them.   Mangrove snappers have been in 10 feet of water over rocks and in the backwaters.   They seem to like just shrimp. ...

Fishing Report Week Of April 5 th , 2018 Fishing is back, water temperature is up, bait is everywhere life is back to normal. The fishing has been hit or miss for a while, but I think the ups & downs are over and we are going into the best months of fishing. The Red fishing and Snook are eating again, and they came out of the back waters. Seatrout are on the open flats in about 6 feet of water over grass. Mangrove snapper over rock plies with nice size Sheepsheads and we are starting to see a lot of Spanish Mackerel in the same spots. Cobia seem to be starting also they are still offshore about 8 miles out but have not seen any good size ones yet at least in Pasco county. The one thing I would say, fishing has been better in an outgoing tide and does shut off during the slack tide (No moving water between High & Low Tides). Catching bait is better at first light as the day goes on bait is harder to find.   Conclusion fishing has been good so go have fun and be safe....