How Many Captains does it take
Friday was a fun day for Capt. Steven and Chris. Another beautiful Friday on Tampa Bay so we decided to explore new locations. First stop the Skyway Bridge for bait, a couple of tosses was all that was needed. While on the smaller side most of the bait was 3'..With the bait well full we headed out. First stop was on a flat full of oyster beds running off to 6' of water which only resulted in a couple of hits with nothing landed. On our way to the next area Capt. Steven promptly stuck the boat in about 5' of water. It was either get out and push or wait for the tide to turn that said first mate Chris went over the side and remedied the situation. Low, low winter tides and a North East wind drains our area of water quickly. We continued exploring without any luck. We did land several nice flounder which was a nice surprise. Earlier in the week we agreed to meet friends Capt. Jim and Dave around lunch time. Jim called and said they were on a trout bite so we went to there location, docks in Terra Verde. As we pulled into sight we could see Jim and Dave catching trout, trout and more trout. Dave was using a new Love's lure a 4' silvery plastic soft bait, combined with a ' jig head was exactly what the trout wanted. The trout were hanging on the bottom, work the jig to quickly and the bite shut off. The dark muddy bottom and concrete walls heat up rapidly and hold numerous species. Now with the tide making its way back Capt. Jim had us all get in Dave's boat as he was going to put us on the Redfish bite on a local island. 15 minutes later Chris was back in the water pushing, yes again! I wish I had a video to share watching Capt. Jim and Dave 'communicate' on which path to follow up onto the flats, comedy at its bets! First mates work for tips but even on fun days he work hard. Combined Capt Jim, Dave, Chris and myself must have 90 years experience on Tampa Bay and yet we still think our boats can run in ankle deep waters. When trying to get into back country potholes it sometimes better to get out and wade, kayak fisherman have a big edge this time of year with access to many locations even the best flats boat can't get into. We will be running several trips on St. Joseph Sound in Clearwater the next few weeks, great area for larger 20' + trout.