Well, I finally got to get out on the water with my buddy Rich this past weekend. The wind was fairly light and the conditions were supposed to be decent for fishing, at least maybe a trout or two would bite, hopefully a red too. Rich had not been out in a while so we stayed out on the water for the majority of the day with only artificials. Conditions on the South Shore of Tampa Bay have been horrible as of late, so where to look for fish was any one's guess. I mainly wanted to get out to try the new Mirrolure soft plastics...

The days tides and solunars did not line up very well, so we didn't expect too much. Starting off working some low tide potholes for reds didn't produce. We used multiple lures and worked the entire area. Mullet were nowhere to be seen;I have a feeling the fish are still out of whack due to the harsh winter. When you go to a known good fishing spot and don't even spook a fish, something is just not right. Throughout the day, numerous areas were worked diligently for anything that would bend a rod, but staying away from the crowds was also something that was preferred.

Finally we sucked it up and lined up with all the other boats looking for trout, in about six feet of water with heavy grass. You would have thought it was tarpon season, with boats everywhere looking for a bite. Our drifts paid off and a few trout were caught. When the other boats saw this, our vessel was swamped with other fisherman looking to keep from getting skunked. The day was filled with disrespectful people all bunched together which was what we wanted to avoid. After boating just a few decent sized trout, a last ditch effort was made to another location; it was just too crowded on the flats.

Rich and I headed to a location in the backcountry we suspected would be about five degrees warmer than the outer flats. We were right, the water temperature went from fifty six to sixty one degrees. Mullet were seen in the general area as well. This was a good sign. We worked the mullet like you would not believe, for a good couple of hours, waiting for a better tide flow. All we had to show for this effort was one flounder.

Hopefully the weather will change up soon and give us some bearable winds and warm air temps. Fishing conditions have been horrible all winter, I can't wait for spring!