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Kingfish
Posts: 1201
 
Location: Tampa Bay | Deep grass flats where it's at
By Doug Hemmer, Times Correspondent
In print: Wednesday, August 6, 2008
What's hot: The deep grass flats in Tampa Bay are holding good numbers of fish. Large trout, silver trout, bluefish, sharks and mackerel can be found over grass that's 4-6 feet deep. The best action is where you see spawn raining on the surface. Anchor up-current of the spawn and deploy a block of frozen chum. You can also chum the area with small live white bait. The live baits will get the fish striking on the surface. Cast your bait where you see the strikes. It's best to rig your rods with a long shank hook. This will keep most of the mackerel from cutting the line. If you catch a mackerel, use a piece of cut mackerel for shark bait. Your shark rod needs to have a short wire leader and a strong hook. Some of the sharks can reach 5 feet. Make sure to have a full spool of line on the shark rod.
Tips: You can also find good areas to fish by drifting the flats. Fan cast the area with a jig that's heavy enough to reach the bottom. Slowly lift the jig off the bottom and let it fall back to the grass. Most of the strikes will occur when the jig falls. A short piece of 40-pound mono in front of the jig will keep the mackerel from cutting the line. If you want more strikes, use a lighter leader. You'll need extra jigs to replace the ones that get cut off.
Doug Hemmer charters out of St. Petersburg and can be reached at (727) 347-1389.
http://www.tampabay.com/sports/outdoors/article759075.ece
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Deep Grass Flats - Doug Hemmer | SPT
