Outdoors

Captain's Corner

What's hot: Though being outside is only slightly cooler than a sauna, fishing remains solid in Tampa Bay. Recent heavy rains have cooled the water a bit and should promote steady catching. The snapper bite is on. These fish do not care how hot it is.

By DAVE WALKER
Published July 30, 2007

What's hot: Though being outside is only slightly cooler than a sauna, fishing remains solid in Tampa Bay. Recent heavy rains have cooled the water a bit and should promote steady catching. The snapper bite is on. These fish do not care how hot it is.

Tip: The "new school" of sardines has emerged onto the grass flats. The big ones that were here a few weeks ago have headed for deeper water. The smaller baits are still quite useful and especially abundant. The use of a cast net with a quarter-inch mesh is the ticket to current hassle-free bait collection. Using a larger diameter mesh will sometimes lead to a net full of gilled baits. This beats them up badly, and it can be a smelly mess to pick them out of the net at the end of the day. Mangrove snapper love small greenbacks, which are the ideal bait when targeting "mangs." The small size enables the fish to eat it with one solid whack.

Safety: People are getting struck by lightning frequently these days. Use common sense. No slimy fish is worth a human life.

[Last modified July 29, 2007, 22:39:39]