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Dear Frank,
I’ll be visiting St. Pete Beach for a few days later this week and am wondering if you can share some wisdom with someone who will probably
not read your column very often. I am from Michigan and thus have no concept of species, technique, location or lure for saltwater.  I would prefer to wade in the salt or fish from a conoe in a river.  Any suggestions?—Dave Sons

Dave:
I’d suggest going to the northeast side of the Sunshine Skyway and wading what is known as the Clam Bar there. It stretches for over a mile off to the southeast. Use a soft plastic jerkbait on a single hook, or a DOA Shrimp, or a Mirrolure Mirrodine, and cast to holes and channel edges. If you have a canoe or rent one, you might go to Double Branch Park off Hillsboough Avenue and fish the holes in that creek--usually very good at this time of year. Live shrimp will be the best bet there. Tight lines, FS

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Mr. Sargeant,

I recently read your column on the manatee zones in the South Shore, and just recently (Monday of this week) put my boat in at Little Cockroach Bay and did some fishing. I am confused of where the manatee zones are. According to the map on the FWC site, Little Manatee River is idle speed only or minimum wake, but the channel out from the ramp at Cockroach Bay was not on the map, nor wwere any of the flats near the shore from Cockroach Bay to Little Manatee.

But, according to the signs the channel out from Cockroach is 25 mph and anywhere outside that channel (north or south?) was minimum wake zones and it seemed to extend out a half-mile to mile from the coast all the way up to the Little Manatee/Apollo Beach area. The map did not have that, but the signs seemed to indicate that if I were to start out the channel from Cockroach, and make a right (north) toward Little Manatee, that was all min wake zone. The water is at most 2-3 feet deep in summer tides and about a foot deep in winter tides. I usually can get on plane (I have a tunnel hull skiff with jack plate) through there between land and the sandbar that extends out, but now it seems like all min wake zones. I am OK with that because a lot of people leave scars on the grass throughout there, but to call it a manatee zone is a joke. No way a manatee can swim in those shallow grass flats. Kind of odd that the channel has a 25 mph limit where the manatees possibly could swim. I am just wondering where I can get accurate info. The day was pretty windy, so I did not follow the channel all the way out to see what signs were posted at the 1/2 to mile from Cockroach north toward Little Manatee. I can tell you this, almost every boat that I saw was on plane through that area, so either I was obeying the law or not understanding it. Thanks, Tim

Tim: As it stands now, the Cockroach Bay channel from the ramp out to open water allows on-plane operation. However, both north and south there are a line of markers at the 6 foot contour, and on-plane operation is not permitted inside those markers. At the Little Manatee entry, on-plane operation to 25 mph is permitted through the marked channel into the river and all the way upstream. Outside the marked channel it’s all slow-speed.

You are right about there being no manatees inside the bar. I fish there once a week and have never seen one, except on the big bar that pushes out just north of Big Pass. You are also right about few people obeying the law. However, FWC has been putting some enforcement down there of late since the rule became mandatory, and I think most will eventually follow the regulations. Keeping fast-moving boats outside the bar may not help manatees, but it will help seagrass, and will also improve the flats fishing there because buzzing the flats is now the single biggest problem in the backwaters. Unfortunately, with so many more boats on the water, we all have to adjust a bit to avoid ruining what we all value so much. FS

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Mr. Sargeant,

Do you know what time of year is best for deep sea fishing on a party boat out of Tarpon Springs, or is there one? Have been a few times with mixed results. We are taking someone from out of state, and can go any time. Thanks. Clay Kemp, Brandon

Clay:
Right now is some of the prime time, but there’s always the risk of hitting cold front winds at this time of year. Late March to early April is the other prime time, and winds are less turbulent then, most of the time. Good luck.

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Good morning Frank,
I would like to target flounder on my next trip in Tampa Bay. Do you have any suggestions as to the best areas to try? Also, in Tampa Bay would you suggest live shrimp, sardines, cut bait or artificial lures? Thank you. Wayne Blanchard, Tampa

Wayne,
It’s tough to target flounder around Tampa Bay, but I’d suggest using live killifish, which can be castnetted along muddy shorelines and around oyster bars. Small sardines and shrimp are also effective. Fish them on a 1/4 ounce jighead or on a 1/0 short shank hook with a rubber core sinker on the leader, and run it right down the bottom,. particularly along sandy dropoffs around the passes, like Johns Pass and Blind Pass and larger sloughs like the Bishop’s Harbor entry. They can also be caught in large sandholes on occasion. Good luck. 

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Good Afternoon,
I wanted your opinion on a safe size boat and perhaps recommendation for fishing for grouper inside Tampa Bay on good days? I currently have a 16’ Carolina Skiff with a 25HP on it.  While this is good for flats and general shallows fishing, I haven’t really had it out very far. About the furthest has been to the reef of debris off of the Picnic Island landing.

I’d like something in the 17-18’ range (so I can still garage it), to fish for grouper and snapper in the Tampa Bay channels. I fish alone quite often and want to be able to still handle the boat alone. There are several nice looking boats, but I haven’t really gotten up close to many at this point. I was hoping perhaps you could point me in a good starting position. I’ve looked at a few on the Internet - Blue Wave 16 and 18V; MAKO 171, 181, 1801; Key West 176 CC or Bay Reef. Thanks, John

John:
Basically, you need something with a little V in the bottom, and good freeboard and flair up front, to give you a softer ride than the flat-bottom C-Skiff and also to keep you drier. (On a dead-calm day you could troll the channel inside Tampa Bay in your current boat, but watch out for those ship wakes!) My personal favorite for value and quality is the Sea Pro; I shopped all brands when I bought my boat a few years back, and they offer a great boat at a very good price. However, they were purchased by Mercury recently, so if you don’t want a Merc on your boat, they are not an option. Mako makes an excellent boat, but they are somewhat pricey. Blue Wave is a good value, but I’m not sure about their quality. I’ve never been aboard one, so I’m not saying they don’t build a good boat, just that I’m not personally familiar. Key West is also pretty good on price and would fill the bill for what you want. Consider a good quality used boat and shop Boattrader.com, among others. Some companies make folding trailer tongues, which would help on your garaging problem. Good luck. FS

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Good afternoon Frank, Could you share some info on catching both pompano and mangroves around the bay bridges please?  Mainly line size, weights, hooks, live bait and technique? Thanks, John Guiseppi

A: For pompano, best bait is live fiddler crabs, which can be caught along muddy shorelines. Chum with crushed oysters or by spudding barnacles off the pilings, and fish with at least a 4 ounce weight to get the bait down fast in the current. Regarding mangrove snapper, I’ve had better luck with them on the main channel edges where there are rocky outcrops, also along riprap shorelines—live sardines about 3 inches long are a great bait, but they also readily take live shrimp. I’d go with 1/0 short shank hooks for both species, 20-pound test leader, and 10-pound microfiber line, or maybe heavier for the pompano due to the heavy weights needed. Tight lines, FS

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Q: I was trying to find out if the red tide is still going on right now? I was on Ana Maria last week, and it wasn’t too much fun. I would like to go to Fort DeSoto this weekend, but I’m afraid to be disappointed. Do you know a site with updates when such a tide occurs? Thank you. Philippe

A: I’m sorry to say there’s red tide around that area once again—reportedly dozens of large redfish died at Egmont over last weekend. You can get the current status on this at any time by visiting this site. FS

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Dear Frank, I read your article with great interest today. I don’t know how many people were stung this past weekend in the Tampa Bay area, but unfortunately I was one of them. We were swimming in front of our condo in Sand Key and I stepped on one and the strike was so intense, I thought I had been bitten by a shark. I guess I’ve just been lucky as a Florida native not to have any other incidences except for jellyfish. As they carried me out of the shallow water, a neighbor told me it was definitely a stingray. I did not still have the barb in thank goodness, just a slash where the poison was injected. I have never experienced this type of pain and I’m 61 years old. We called the ER and they said to soak my ankle in hot water with betadyne to avoid infection. The pain did not alleviate itself for THREE hours.  It’s still sore but OK now. My husband and I were of course shocked to hear about Steve Irwin the next day. How bizarre. Anyway, I thought you’d be interested in my little encounter. It’s a lesson to all of us who get so comfortable in our native Gulf.—Lin Weber, Tampa

A: Stingray wounds are rare but not unheard of—there are plenty of rays in our waters, but fortunately most of them are small, and nearly always the wounds are in the foot or ankle. Still, it pays all who swim, dive or wade our waters to go slowly, keep their eyes open, and give rays a wide berth.

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Frank, I have heard there is alot of juvenile tarpon in the lower Hillsborough River right now. Is that true and where? Also any other area rivers good right now for tarpon? - Don

Don: There are small tarpon around a number of the bridges and deep stretches of the river this summer; live shiners are a good bait, or toss a DOA plastic mullet on top of them when you see them rolling. The Little Manatee is usually very good, but there have not been as many there this summer as usual. Check the deep bends early in the day on outgoing tides. Tight lines. FS

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Good morning Frank,
I am an avid reader of your column and had a question for you. This past weekend we were fishing one of the channel markers near the Y free-lining finger mullet, and we were catching mackerel that were easily in the 27-30 inch range. Were these Spanish or small Kings? They did have about a dozen yellow spots on the lower back half of their bodies, but not many. The line on their side was jagged, if that means anything. Regards, David Riscile

David: The deal is if there’s a significant drop in the lateral line behind the second dorsal, that would be a kingfish, despite the yellow spots. Spanish mackerel have a slight drop in the lateral line, but it’s not much. And, they also have a deep black front dorsal fin, which kings do not. Sounds like you were on the juvenile kings - good news for the future of our king mackerel runs here, because everybody is catching them this summer.

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Q: I would appreciate it if you would recommend some beach and bay locations to wade fish without a boat. I realize there is a lot of beach and bay, but to wade fish without a lot of swimmwers. Thank you. - Robert Guzinsky

Robert: Right now, fishing around the passes pretty much anywhere from Clearwater Beach southward can provide great snook action. Fish at dawn or dusk and cast ahead as you walk the beach. Use a plastic shrimp like the DOA or Old Bayside, or a swimbait like the Tsunami, and keep it close to shore, literally within 10 feet of the sand--that’s where the fish will be cruising during the low light periods. FS

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Frank,
Going to be at St. Pete Beach early August. Would like to know of some good flies for snook and where to fish? Thanks, Greg

A:
Good time in a good place. Use any sort of small white fly, about 1 to 2 inches long, with some Mylar or other flash added to imitate glass minnows. Fish around docks all along the Intracoastal Waterway from sundown to sunset--lots of fish there, provided the red tide does not come up here and ruin it. Tight lines, FS

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Hi, Frank!

I totally agree with your red tide column. Something has to be done. I suspect that ‘’Big Sugar’’ wants to keep the status quo on not being able to connect runoff with the frequency and duration of blooms. I follow the runoff story in Florida Sportsman. I work in the West Shore area. I would like to be able to fish a couple of hours before heading home, beats sitting in traffic. Do you have any suggestions for any hot spots? I could go to the old Gandy Bridge. I don’t know to target anything specific. I just want to relax and maybe hook into a couple of fish. Keep up to good work! Thanks! Best regards, Joe Balter, Tampa

Joe:
Gandy Bridge can actually be a good spot for mackerel. Buy a block of chum at the baitshop on the east end, hang it on the downtide side and then fish a small jig or spoon, very fast, in the chum slick. Add a length of 30-pound test mono to prevent cutoffs. Alternatively, you could go to Picnic Island Park, on the south end of West Shore. Wade the south tip there and toss a DOA shrimp into the potholes—should be some snook, and occasional redfish too. Tight lines, FS

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Hi Frank,

Enjoyed your column this morning. It reminded me of something. Have you heard anything about the (possible) world record bass that was caught (snagged?) a couple of months ago in California? Seems to be a lot of controversy surrounding that and I haven’t read anything lately about it. Thanks.—Barry Lilien, Carrollwood

A: I spoke to the IGFA about this last week. The angler never submitted the application on the fish, probably because of the controversy regarding it being snagged. So, the old record continues to stand. Best, FS.

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Frank, as always I read every one of your columns and the daily column from the different guides.  We now have 3 years of inside fishing experience and the articles and fishing once a month with Justin have helped.  But I have a long way to go.

I have a question for you.  I am using Power Pro 10# line for snook, redfish and trout fishing. Doug Olander wrote an article “At The Breaking Point” in the August Sport Fishing magazine evaluating braided lines and knots. After a lot of testing he is recommending the Yucatan knot for line to leader using braided line.  I’ve tried the Double Uni knot for this but still have problems with it so I use the Surgeon’s knot mostly. What knot do you recommend for 10# Power Pro to 30 leader?—Dean

Dean: I’ve found the simple solution to avoiding cut-throughs with braid is just to double the braid, and then tie whatever knot you like. I use a double-uni, and have not had a cut-through in years. It takes a little more time to tie this way and you have to be very careful in drawing it down to get all the loops out, but one tie will last until you use up all the leader, so it’s well worth doing. Tight lines, FS

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