Tampa Bay Fly Fishing Report

First Day of Winter Report

This week hot weather returned to the Tampa Bay Area. The first day of winter was a hot one with bright sunshine and 80+ air temps.

Today was a mix of both Fly and Light tackle fishing. We started out fishing some cool back country flats as the tide was ebbing it;s way to a negative low tide. We did a lot of walking on the exposed flats today casting to the fast moving water along the drop offs and channels. This early day plan produced pretty good with a bunch of Snook on the fly up to about 20". We also added some Snapper, Sheepshead and Lady fish. This is a regular plan during winter lows and one of my favorite ways to fish.

Snook in the size range of the one below are super active now in the back country. I had one small mangrove lined cove that we were getting one strike after another.

Below are some photos of the flat we fished this morning

On the low we headed out to the bay and targeted the edge of the flats and the weed beds in 1 to 2 feet of water. A couple of hours in the skinny water produced some really nice Trout and Snook. The deeper flats are full of Glass Minnows and huge schools of Ladyfish. Right now you can catch Ladyfish until your arms are sore.

On all of my recent trips we have been fishing # 5 and #6 weight fly rods which makes targeting these speedsters super exciting.

There are also some scattered schools of Spanish Mackerel around but most of the surface blitzes have been ladyfish pushing the bait to the surface.

Late today we were getting water temperatures from 74 to 76 degrees so the current action should continue until our next cold front mixes things up again.

Right now tides and conditions are great for full day trips

Give us a call today to plan your next fishing adventure. 607-290-4022

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All!