ON THE WATER REPORT by Captain Billy Nobles Well...I’ve been on the water about every day this week. Bait is easy, and fish are all over the bay until it gets too hot...so hit them early and late. The shallows are "haired over" with Redfish which should be good news for the Redfish tournament guys out of Ruskin this weekend. The Mangrove Snapper bite remains as strong as I have ever seen it in the bay with fish over 4 pounds being caught daily! Not too shabby for the bay and limits are being filled quickly. I am still having a problem catching slot limit Snook, but am having no trouble finding the well over slot females and the smaller fish. I have talked with a lot of guides and they are seeing the same thing. Offshore, the Red, Gag, and Scamp Grouper bite is on fire... along with the Mangrove Snapper, as well. The farther out you go the more opportunities arise. I was talking with a dear friend, Tony Cimino, who was out in about 175 feet. He told me the water was that magic Cobalt Blue with plenty of weedlines. Along with the weedlines were Mahi Mahi and Tripletail up to 20 pounds. They were on anchor and as the weed patches floated by so did the big fish. Live bait seems to be the key but the Grouper will take dead bait as well. A word of bad news. The National Marine Fisheries has determined that during the June Red Snapper season, the recreational sector took more fish than were allocated; therefore, in their infinite wisdom...they have decided to steal part of our fall season cutting us back to just 15 days. I would, for one, like to know how they base these numbers, when repeatedly their estimates have been proven to be off... not by a little, but a lot?! Also, the first week of the June season we were blown out by high winds making it unsafe to venture out for the Americans. It seems there are a few that have a hidden addenda that govern the rest of us, but that seems to be the status quo for American politics these days. Be sure to tune in on Saturday mornings at 6:00 on News Channel 8 WFLA for The Reel Animals Fishing Show and listen to Captain Mike on 970 AM WFLA from 6-9 am on Reel Animals Saturday. Call in on Saturday’s to WFLA 970 for Reel Animal’s Saturday and Sunday’s to WDAE 620 AM The Sports Animal for the T.A. Mahoney Reel Animals Fishing Show to win some cool fish gear from 7-9 am. Also visit our website @ reelanimalsfishingteam or call 1-866-GAMEFISH to book your fishing trip of a lifetime and until next week, “Do yourself a favor and take a kid fishin’."
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 20:06:45 +0000