September 2011 Tampa Fishing Report

Posted: 02 Sep 2011 11:59 AM PDT

Numerous quality fish were caught over the last month, even though August was filled with family vacations, return to school preparations and hot weather...and is therefore a month that many anglers just really don't fish very much. Most Tampa fishing charters tended to be 4 to 6 hour adventures as few fishermen are fanatic enough to endure eight hours of the very warm Florida sun. For those who love to fish however, heat is a mere inconvenience and does not overcome the fact that Florida remains one of the best places to fish in the world...even when it's hot. With a little creative thought, a variety of fish can be caught. Moving into September, the action will only improve as the days shorten and the water cools.

Snook fishing in September is much like August. Fish can still be found out along the beaches but are fewer in number, more dispersed and generally less aggressive. Tampa fishing guides will typically target these fish early or late in the day and during periods of stronger tidal movement. The heat of the day typically puts these fish into the "no eat"mode. While searching the beaches for snook, keep an eye open for some of summer's bigger trout. These "big" summer trout don't rival the size of winter fish, normally in the 20 - 25 inch class, but fish from 17 to 20 inches are a realistic expectation. With the abundance of smaller white bait available now, most Tampa Fishing guides load up early in the day with 500 - 1000 baits and, when fishing deeper swash channels out on the beaches, chum liberally. Any self respecting trout will rise to these baits and start smacking them. Once this begins, fishing can become fast and furious, but many fish will be short of the slot limit. With patience and persistence however. the four fish limit can be filled. The best approach is to use a free lined whitebait on a 1/0 circle hook.

Redfishing remained a fairly frustrating proposition in August but did show an occasional flicker of improving. Most Tampa fishing charters targeting redfish consisted of a lot of hard work...trying a multitude of spots and moving on a regular basis. Redfish will usually bite when found, so this approach is most effective when fish are scattered and/or scarce. As many as a dozen spots might be targeted on a 4 hour trip...in the hopes that one location might be holding a group of fish. A couple trips did yield good catches but many resulted in just a couple of keeper fish. The good news is that Tampa fishing for redfish typically reaches it's peak in late September and October and is also the time of year when the biggest fish of the season are available. Larger offshore fish will gather near local passes from September through November and create a"redfish of a lifetime" opportunity. Anglers who want to target these overgrown reds must be willing spend the whole fishing trip in the hopes of hooking one of these monsters, but these efforts may well be rewarded with fish approaching twenty pounds. In September, slot sized, inshore fish should begin to school and present better opportunities than we have had as well.

On weaker tides, Tampa fishing guides will often head out to near shore reefs and ledges for a little change of pace. With water temps still high in August, typical catches would include grunts and small grouper but appearances could be made by a stray mackerel, cobia or even barracuda. A recent Tampa fishing charter out to one of these reefs yielded a nice cobia and several cuda hook-ups. Barracuda are often seen as a less desirable fish by some offshore anglers but when hooked on the lighter inshore tackle, they can put up a spectacular fight...often times jumping repeatedly. Rigging a small live mackerel or a blue runner on a stinger rig is the ticket. Progressing into the next month, these reefs should see a significant increase in activity. Spanish mackerel will certainly show in good numbers and may well be accompanied by bonita, more barracuda, shark and, if things cool a little early, the first of the kingfish. Anchoring over reefs or hard bottom and chumming aggressively with live bait can trigger feeding frenzies of large proportions with all of the above mentioned predators in the mix. These days can represent some of the best Tampa fishing available in terms of action and variety. Do make sure to "tackle up" with steel leaders in the 30 - 40 lbs class to protect against the sharp teeth of many of these fish. Home made leaders, about 6 inches in length, tied from either Malin Hard Wire or American Fishing Wire will do the trick. Secure a Spro Swivel on one end and a #2/0 hook on the other. For larger baits, add a stinger treble hook 2 - 3 inches behind the first hook to insure that bait slicing critters like kingfish and barracuda don't get away.

With the approach of cooler weather, white bait should begin to show up just yards off of our beaches in the next 30 days, promising to ignite the early fall bite for many of the species mentioned above. So check the boat, reline the reels and get after it. Good luck and good fishing.



Gone Fishing Charters
Tampa Bay
Capt Stewart Ames.
http://www.tampa-fishing-charter.com/
727-742-5291