August Tampa Bay Fishing

It’s time to adjust and switch to late summer fishing strategies. Now that we have reached the hottest time of the year, it would be wise to pick the coolest times of the day to fish. Early morning, late afternoon and night will be the most productive as well as comfortable time to plan your next angling adventure.

Our late summer bait hatch has finally occurred and just about every predator will be gorging themselves on the tiny morsels. It would be a good idea to have a small mesh bait net handy to ensure that most of the bait dumps out like it’s supposed to, and not stuck in every hole the net has. These small baits will grow up fast but for the time being bump down in hook and leader size so that they can still swim naturally.

One of the biggest questions people have had is about the red colored water that has taken over the upper bay north of the Howard Franklin Bridge. This is an algae bloom fueled by run off from all the rain we’ve had. Hopefully we won’t have any sort of fish kill like we saw last year but the summer is not over yet. Staying clear of these areas and finding clean water is your best bet to find the fish you’re looking for.

Tarpon

By this point of the summer, the upper bay is loaded with poons relaxing and feeding at their leisure. Unlike the large grey hounding pods we see along the beaches and in the passes, these fish will roll very low to the waters surface showing only the tips of their fins most of the time.

The bridges have been loaded with poons for the past month or so and will continue to hold fish until the fall. Night time is the best time to target Tarpon around the bridges as the swim up and down the shadow line in search of an easy meal. These fish aren’t very picky and will take just about anything if it’s presented properly.

Snook

We still have a month to go before Snook Season opens, so now is the time to figure out their patterns. The ends of the bridges along the rocks near shore are a good place to start looking and should be until late fall when the weather starts to cool down. This is a great time to fish at night for Snook since its cooler and the fish will be feeding better during the twilight hours anyway.

While most live baits are an excellent choice to use, many soft plastic and jerk baits will produce just as well sometimes. Fish during the stronger tides while there is good water movement for the best results.

Redfish

We should start to see the large schools of reds showing up this month as they move from flat to flat in search of food. Look for them to be schooling up early in the morning when the water is calm when they can be seen pushing water as they make their way across the flat. Of course being very quite is very important when stalking them. Find flats that are active with large schools of Mullet milling around Oyster beds for your best chances at catching reds. Fish live or cut baits right in the middle of the Mullet activity for a shot at some nonstop rod bending action. Best of the rest Snapper fishing will be heating up this month around the bridges and rock piles as they start to school up to spawn. Fish for them around the full moon phases for the best bite. Pompano have moved in and are taking fiddler crabs and jigs like their going out of style. Best times are in the morning and late afternoon and when the tide is moving. Spanish Mackerel are still showering schools of bait all over the bay, and be caught anchoring down tide of the bridges or range markers. Hang a chum block over the side to draw them in and hang on. Cobia are still hanging around and will always show up when you least expect it. Have a live bait ready or a plastic eel rigged up for when a ling comes swimming by.