Warmer temperatures have fish acting like it’s already springtime
Despite the calendar saying the middle of January, this past week felt a lot more like April or May. As a result, captains around the bay noticed fish were also acting like it was springtime instead of winter and gorging themselves on the flats.
“The water temperature on the flats was 73 or 74-degrees most days,” said Capt. Jason Prieto, who specializes on fishing the shallow flats of southern to eastern Tampa Bay. “This time of year I’m normally fishing up the rivers, but instead I’ve still been on the flats.”
Prieto says the bait situation has also been good. Instead of running to the Sunshine Skyway he’s been able to find it closer to home on deepwater towers and still on the flats.
“With white bait they’re going off. We’re getting 30-35 snook a day, trout over 20-inches, jacks, redfish and more. I’ve caught more upper and over slot redfish this year than the previous few years, as well.”
One of the secrets Prieto described has been his ability to take advantage of the negative low tides with his custom built Texas boat. His Stoner Super Cat is a 23-foot boat with a tunnel hull, allowing him to get shallow in waters less than 10-inches deep. So shallow, in fact, he said most of the fish he’s catching are pretty much stuck where he finds them.
“These pot holes are almost like shooting fish in a barrel. The tide is so low that there are birds standing all around us. The fish are getting trapped,” Prieto explained.
“A week ago we hooked and caught a 42-inch snook in one of these holes. It was so shallow that the snook tried to run up and back over the bar but it couldn’t! We saw another big fish this week and tried to sight cast it, but as soon as I put the Power Poles down it spooked. That’s the one downside to fishing so shallow is the fish tend to be a bit spooky as well.”
Areas that Prieto likes to fish on negative low tides are deeper holes that could be two to three feet deep with sandy bottom surrounded by grass flats or sandbars that receive plenty of tidal flow. Both the outgoing tide and beginning of the incoming tide have been good, stranding his targets in the holes.
Looking ahead, cold weather will soon cover the state and water temperatures are sure to drop in a hurry. Prieto will also be changing his target areas in the week ahead.
“It’s an adjustment. If the water gets into the mid 60’s the fish will move off the flats and head to the rivers. The rivers hold the temperatures better and don’t fluctuate as much. If it drops below 58-degrees, that’s when I’ve seen flats fish don’t want to bite at all.
“I’ll change it up and fish some of the deeper ledges and structures around the bay for sheepshead, which are much more resilient to the cold temperatures.”