Outdoors

Daily fishing report

By CHUCK ROGERS
Published February 14, 2005

Whitebait are starting to make their way back to the central part of the bay. Large schools of big - and I mean big - whitebait are showing up in deeper channels, where the tides are not strong.

When it is flat, the birds work it. But you still need a bottom machine to locate the knot. Get out your large mesh nets, mix a little chum and with some patience, you should be able to load the well.

The spotted sea trout bite has been solid. Not great numbers, but up to 25 inches. The yellowmouths tend to hang out in deeper water. Snug Harbor Channel and the residential canals along the east side between the Howard Frankland and Gandy bridges hold some true gators.

The redfish have thinned out up north, but there still are reds running the flats and dropoffs.

If we get a reprieve from late winter cold fronts, we should be wearing shorts and catching snook by the end of the month. I have seen several large schools in their usual haunts. But even large sardines will not make them feed. In a week or two, the water temperature should approach the upper 60s, and those big linesiders should start to feed.

--Chuck Rogers charters out of Rattlesnake Point Outfitters at Bayside Marina in Tampa. Call 813 835-1919 or e-mail rspo@tampabay.rr.com

[Last modified February 14, 2005, 01:20:17]