Outdoors Column | The redfishing is so good on Tampa Bay, you might get ‘bored’
2020 has seen the return of more redfish to Tampa Bay and giant bait schools all over the flats. But while redfish have been prominent, big snook have remained in their summertime spots with above average water temperatures.
Last weekend’s Tampa Bay Builders Association Slam Fishing tournament was full of big redfish and none were bigger than those caught by Capt. Chris Wiggins. Wiggins, who fishes southern Tampa Bay, has said this fall has been some of the best redfishing he’s seen in years.
“I fished charters for 21 straight days and running a bunch of days with two trips. Luckily, the redfishing is better than I’ve seen in quite a while. There’s bigger schools with more fish and even when there are boats on one school you can still find plenty of fish.”
Some days Wiggins’ anglers have been catching so many fish they get bored of it.
“Before the tournament I had a day of non-stop double and triple headers for three hours. The anglers were looking at me and it looked like they were bored of it. It’s like, what do you go and do after that?”
On the day of the tournament Wiggins and team Carpenter Contractors of America / Neal started the trip catching bait easily. He said it’s on nearly every flat and pier thick around Tampa Bay. From there his team’s first stop was to try for redfish. The slam tournament required the biggest combination of one redfish, trout and snook.
“On the first stop we caught a 33-inch redfish and 22-inch trout immediately. I wasn’t even expecting trout out of there so that was a bonus. I thought snook was going to be the hardest fish so we went for them next.”
Wiggins noted that he’s seen fewer big snook than normal for this time of year. With water temperatures still in the mid 80’s, he believes most are still around the passes and beaches.
“We’ve hooked a few big snook around docks during trips, but it’s not like there have been a ton around,” he said. “We had to work for it but eventually ended up with a 34-incher for the tournament.”
With a decent trout, snook and redfish in their slam, Wiggins set off to upgrade their redfish.
“I knew when the tide dropped out there would be big fish out on a bar. We timed it perfectly and the first baits resulted in a quadruple header. Two 35s, a 36 and a 38-inch redfish! That’s not something we do often so was pretty perfect!” Wiggins said.
By the end of the tournament his team would finish with a 94-inch slam, good enough to take home first place by 12 inches over 2nd place team Brightview and Capt. Jared Simonetti with 82 inches. Third place would go to team Carpenter Contractors of America / Zechmann and Capt. Jamie Goodwin with 81 inches.
Wiggins’ redfish would take the top 2-spots in that category, while a pair of 36-inch snook would be the biggest caught, one by angler Mike Piendel and the other angler Vinny Colangelo. A 25-inch trout by Travis Stagnitta would be the biggest trout photod in.