By FRED EVERSON

November winds continue to make fishing a difficult proposition for Tampa Bay anglers. Boat traffic has been minimal all week as the wind and rain associated with the latest tropical storm pounded the bay.

I did get out Tuesday for a couple of hours, fishing the backcountry of Little Cockroach Bay on a big high tide. Getting out on the flats to look for bait was a non-starter, so we fished with chunks of frozen ladyfish. We tried several different cuts in the mangroves, but all we caught were a few catfish, and one of them spined my finger as I tried to remove the hook. I keep some meat tenderizer on hand for such occasions, and it lessens the pain. I had a hook-removal tool, but I lost it to another feisty sailcat that jerked it out of my hand and into the drink. Score: Catfish 2, captain Fred 0.

Water clarity continues to improve despite the wind and rain. That is because of a drop in temperature. The Gulf water temperature was 75 degrees Wednesday morning — a drop of 5 degrees this week. That will make for good sight-fishing when the wind stops. The two best fish to cast to are cobia and redfish. Snook that you can see are particularly difficult to catch. Apparently they see well, and if you can see a snook, it can see you too. Redfish are generally easier to find in clear shallow water, but casting precision is required.

My favorite spot to look for redfish is on the flats between the Simmons Park boat ramp and Apollo Beach. I like to fish this area on the extreme low tides that occur every other week. I also like to look for cobia on this same flat in November. They tend to hang near the 6-foot edge and often travel in the company of eagle rays. A couple of weeks ago I spotted a single cobia trailing a manatee.
These fish are generally in the feeding mode and will hit a variety of soft plastic baits, including eels, crabs and mullet.

Visit captain Fred Everson’s Web site at http://www.tampabayfishingguide.com for charter info or call (813) 830-8890.