Each of the past four years, snook fishing has started earlier and been a little better…indicative of the continuing recovery of the species. Since the famous cold winter of four years ago, 
Tampa Fishing Charters still appear to be yielding reduced numbers of smaller snook, but bigger females seem to be in abundance….so much so that there were far too many big fish pictures to include in this report. Another indicator of the recovery is that snook have been seen and caught back inside the mangroves while fishing for redfish. Fish had been largely absent from these areas during daylight hours over the past few seasons. Larger fish have been in their usual predictable locations so, as is usually the case, finding them has not been the issue…just getting them to eat. 
Big whitebaits have been the most productive offerings, but to be completely prepared, most Tampa Fishing Guides will have a few grass grunts in the bullpen, ready to go. Both baits are best fished with no weight and allowed to swim freely on their own. There are several theories why the grass grunts are a good addition to the arsenal: the first is that snook eat them as a result of their dislike for them because grunts eat thier eggs. The second is that they just plain really prefer them as a food source. Some Tampa Fishing guides think there is a more straightforward reason why grunts are often eaten when a whitebait, even a big one, just won’t work. They are larger than whitebait, therefore providing extra protein and they swim in a different part of the water column than a whitebait. 
Grunts will swim straight to the bottom, right down into the snooks liar so, logically, they are right in front of the fish and therefore, if the fish are less active, they don’t have to go as far to eat. Whitebait will suspend in the water column and will run to the surface when chased…more effort, smaller meal. Animals survive in nature by being economical in their energy expenditure.
Another point of interest over the last month has been when the snook will eat. 
Certainly, low light periods are dependable times…early and late in the day, and this hasn’t changed. Typically, the other “best times” are on the strongest part of the moving tides and most Tampa Fishing Charters are set to run during these peak periods. Once again, this is logical, as fish can sit and wait for dinner to be served to them by the tide. Maybe it’s the increased oxygen flow as well that gets them a little more active. Either would be a good reason for them to become more interested in a meal. What has been intriguing over the last month is their willingness to eat on slack tides. Unlike in previous years, it just seem that certain groups of fish will, in fact, eat when water flow is at a minimum. Long story short, fishing for snook takes more skill than tracking down a redfish or a trout, both of which will typically bite fairly quickly when located. Successful Tampa Fishing Charters for snook require that fish are located, baits are presented in a natural way and feeding times are properly determined. 
To top it all off, the strike of a big snook hooked in a low current area may be very soft and if the fish doesn’t feel the hook and doesn’t run, an angler can actually miss the bite. 
All this adds up to the belief that snook are incredibly smart. Like all fish however, they are simply creatures of habit. Tampa Fishing for snook can result in multiple hook ups in a short period of time for anglers willing to do their homework.
Mixed in with the snook are large seatrout that have yet to depart, like they normally do, when the heat of summer arrives. Although not quite as abundant as a month ago, limit catches of larger 18 to 22 inch trout were achieved on several Tampa Fishing Charters. 
The best part of this is that these fish were caught in areas where snook are found so they provided good interim action until snook were hooked. Also, with snook closed to harvest until September 2013, these large trout help fill the dinner requirement. Medium sized whitebaits were the the best enticement for these fish. Larger trout will eat the biggest of whitebaits but the medium baits are better as more fish are hooked. Five inch whitebaits are a little more than a mouthful for even the biggest trout. As June progresses, the biggest trout will continue to thin out but there will be keeper sized trout on the beaches through the summer.
During the first part of May, redfishing continued to be challenging. Tampa Fishing Guides worked hard for several hours during the higher phases of the tide to catch three to six redfish per trip…the only good news being that these fish were top of the slot and over. During the second half of the month, and hopefully on into June, the fishing improved significantly, with several double digit redfish days. Fish quality remained strong. Two approaches were most effective….both on the higher phases of the tide. The first of these was discussed in detail in last month’s report…methodically working across productive flats using cut bait. The other was pitching cut and live baits up into the mangrove edges. This approach also needs ot be done in a methodical fashion. Pick 20 yards of shoreline and lay 3 or 4 baits right in against the mangroves. 
Give it a few minutes, pick up and move twenty yards and do it again. If you are willing to work hundreds of yards of shoreline, you will likely encounter fish at some point. There are days when fish can be totally absent from entire areas of shoreline but, over the long haul, this approach will yield results and will teach an angler where fish like to hold. Tampa Fishing for redfish can, at times, feel like work but, like in any other profession, those who do the work will be rewarded.
A few trips to the outside beaches in the morning revealed good numbers of tarpon running from 50 to 300 yards off the beach. Most fish appeared to be 70 – 80 lbs with some larger fish mixed in. On one particular day over 200 fish were seen but none of them were interested in eating. Tampa Fishing for tarpon is a viable activity off of northern Pinellas County Beaches but there is no doubt that the quantities of fish are much greater at the mouths of a larger bays to the south…Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor (Boca Grande). Good luck and good fishing.
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