Sports
Capt. Prieto Offers Tip to Attract Fish in Dirty Water
With rains having stirred Tampa-area waters and dropped water temperatures about 10 degrees in the past couple weeks, Capt. Jason Prieto of Steady Action Fishing Charters has adjusted for nice catches of trout, redfish and even a few snook
SALTWATER SCENE
Capt. Jason Prieto of Steady Action Fishing Charters in Tampa fished Thursday and found good action on redfish and trout tight to mangroves as well as on lower, outgoing tides. He said the most productive areas have been Joe Island, Cockroach Bay, the Simmons Park flat and Bishop Harbor. The trout, which Prieto caught with heavy chum and white bait under a cork, have been low in numbers but have run between 20-25 inches in length.
With heavy rains, the surface water temperature in Upper Tampa Bay has dropped to a high of 82 degrees.
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Prieto said grouper are in the bay and snook are beginning to move from the passes to the flats. He thinks the best snook fishing will be in two weeks when more snook head to backcountry area en route to their winter holes.
“I think we just need the water temperature to drop a little more,” he said.
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SOMETHING TO TRY
With a full moon ahead, tides will improve throughout the week. Prieto recommends simply fishing lower tides in the mornings with white bait under a cork. Target pot holes as fish begin dropping off the flats.
CAPTAIN'S TIP
The water’s dirty, so be sure to do some heavy chumming. The white bait is small, so downsize your hooks. Prieto has been using a No. 1 Daiichi circle hook.
THE GUIDE
Capt. Jason Prieto of Steady Action Fishing Charters can be reached at 813-727-9890. Web site is www.steadyacrtionfishingcharters.com.