As our Boca Grande season winds to an end with tropical weather, and small craft advisories it’s safe to assume that The Reel Animals Fishing Team has not been on the water this week. The weather has been anything but normal this year. I mean when have you heard of cold fronts in May and June, in Southwest Florida of all places. At the first of May we had morning winds out of the Northeast and our afternoon “sea breeze” was out of the Northwest, weird huh? They’re still wacking the tarpon here in Tampa Bay, my good friend, Captain Glenn Taylor, when not making lobster rolls at his restuant Boardwalk Grille at John’s Pass, is killin’ them in the afternoons with double digit hookups and landing a good portion of them. When I say good portion anything above a thirty percent land ratio on tarpon I and most tarpon captains consider good. The reason for this is these fish are huge, explosive, and they jump, a lot. Some of the times when the fish jumps, clients, me included don’t bow and the silver king has a knack for plucking the hook, and breaking lines.
This week here in Tampa, Captain Stephen Marchovich, reports that the inshore bite is on with great redfishing on oversized fish on cut bait, trout and snook on live bait. He told me to look for the snook and trout around the passes on an outgoing tide, fishing the ledges. It will be interesting to see how this weekend’s weather will effect the inshore action. Offshore the red snapper bite is on, there’s a shocker, with mango, and yellowtails in the mix. Remember in just a couple of weeks Gag Grouper opens and we will be able to keep gags, and red snapper for a short period before snapper shuts down, so be sure to take advantage of this to make the most of you dollars. Cause you and I both know it ain’t cheap to make the long runs with marine fuel around five bucks a gallon.
Be sure to tune in on Saturday mornings at 6:30 on News Channel 8 WFLA for The Reel Animals Fishing Show and listen to Captain Mike on 970 AM WFLA from 6-9 am on Reel Animals Saturday. Call in on Saturday’s to WFLA 970 for Reel Animal’s Saturday and Sunday’s to WDAE 620 AM The Sports Animal for the T.A. Mahoney Reel Animals Fishing Show to win some cool fish gear from 7-9 am. Also visit our website @ www.reelanimalsfishingteam.com and friend us on face book or call 1-866-GAMEFISH to book your fishing trip of a lifetime and until next week, “Do yourself a favor and take a kid fishin’."
