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Fishing Report – Tampa Bay – New Port Richey – It Was a Beautiful Day

By February 22, 2010Fishing Reports

With all the cold rainy weather we have had this winter it is so nice to finally see some warm and sunny days in the forecast. I had some very good clients scheduled to go fishing this weekend and was very excited to get out on the water and see what the warmer weather would bring us. I had them meet me at the dock at 7:30 and i got there about a half hour early to enjoy the sunrise and actually feel the warmth in the morning air that was finally not below 40 degrees.

As we left the dock I planned on heading south toward Tarpon Springs to see if I could get on some redfish and trout that me and Capt. Clay had found a couple of days earlier while out shooting some footage for our new Internet video site Proanglersjournal.com . when I pulled my Banshee off plane I could see some activity close to the area that the fish had been, I poled us into position and we began to see the tell tale head wakes of redfish. We made several casts into and around the school but could get no takers. We worked the fish for another 20 minutes or so and then decided to move through them and go to another school I had found earlier in the week.

When we got to the area of the next school I saw Capt. Clay coming in to, we decided to try and get on opposite sides of the school and hold them between us. This was a great plan except there were no fish to keep between us, they had obviously moved on from the other day. We said goodbye to Clay and went to yet another bunch of redfish, on arrival we watched as an Osprey dove on some mullet, his aim was true and he got his prey. When the hawk hit the water he showed us right where the fish were that we were looking for. A large wake pushed right at us, and as we got ready to cast I could see the redfish moving across the sand bottom from the platform. My anglers all made very good casts in front of the school, but to no avail. For some reason this group of reds didn’t want to eat either, we poled around them and had 4 or 5 more good shots but had the same result.

I was beginning to get a little frustrated with the fish so we decided to move on to another area that I normally see fish in this time of year. When we got into the small bay I could see fish pushing already, as we approached I could see a mixture of trout and redfish, surly these fish would bite. We made several casts to them and again all our offers were turned down. One of my anglers had an 8 wght. fly rod and I told him to give it a whirl, on the third shot…. finally pay dirt, a nice redfish ate a small clouser. We managed one more small red on a Mirrolure Lil John and that was it.

Although the fish was tough I was very encouraged to see the redfish and trout in the shallows in good numbers and schooling up. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and I saw some signs of bait-fish in the area. It should only be a matter of time before the water is warming and the bait will be here. Spring time charters are filling up fast for March and April so if your looking to get out or know someone who is now is the time to make those reservations.

Capt. Greg

1-888-557-1885