Back-to-back cold fronts are slated to move through just before the weekend. They won’t drop the temperatures much. However, it does mean a week of fierce winds will have kept most game and fish in hiding.
The cool-down will get things moving once the wind settles. That’s hard to predict, but the weekend should bring calmer days. Meanwhile, that full moon keeps waning. That could spell terrific hunting.
n After the trip, enjoy the Manatee County Ducks Unlimited Banquet on Nov. 12 next week. Great Florida fare such as alligator, frog legs, deviled crabs, shrimp and swamp cabbage will be all you can eat. The event will be held at the county fairgrounds and has an open bar. For tickets, call Teresa at 915-2139. This will be a good time to brag about your weekend.
n Those cold fronts should push more and more snook up the rivers and creeks. The Manatee River is thick with them, though high winds have been difficult. That should make them hungry when the wind lays over the weekend. It’s still going to take some time for the water turbidity to clear up. For that reason, lee shores should be the watchword.
n The wind may remain easterly. If so, then look to the Gulf. A northerly breeze should drive kingfish and Spanish mackerel into a Tampa Bay already stiff with them. The big bay is so deep that it will settle faster than smaller bodies of water. For fast action, that might be the best bet.
n But this weekend should see snook as the true stars. Small linesiders will be massed along both shores of the Manatee River and Terra Ceia Bay. Lee shores, creeks and canals will provide the most action. If the wind lays, the mouth of Wares Creek should be great fishing for larger snook. In fact, that’s probably where anglers will find most linesiders, in and around the bayou systems of west Bradenton, Snead Island and Terra Ceia.
If you don’t mind casting baits to docks with heavy tackle, then that will pretty much guarantee a river snook. If sport is what you seek, then I’d suggest leaving the bait at home and breaking open the tackle box.
Good lures will be soft plastic and bucktail jigs in white, yellow and chartreuse. Mirrolures are versatile and have many models. The Mann’s Bait Company also produces a great snook bait in their Stretch series. They’ve got a new one, and I’ll let you know how it works when they show up. Both of these companies also produce very good jigs and jerk baits.
Good spots to try will be any creek or bayou mouth or inside these water bodies. Sleepers will include the mosquito control ditches inside Rattlesnake Key in Terra Ceia and the myriad canals in the northeast corner of that bay.
It’s not quite cold enough to do really well on snook east of the Green Bridge. But the regions west to Tampa Bay should be as good as they come this weekend.
G.B. Knowles, outdoors writer, can be reached at (941) 730-3234.
Email Story
Printer Friendly 
Quick Job Search
@Nyx.replyAnswerText@