Took a trip out hoping to get out before the cold front came through. Of course we did not beat it and went out right as the tip of the low pressure  system came through. A cloudy day, drizzled for a while but was still a great day in Tampa bay.

We launched at about 7am right at slack tide. We paddled to our spot and began casting doa paddle tails in the new "watermelon clear holographic" color. We coated the soft plastics in pro cure bait sent to make the lures more enticing. We managed to catch a few trout.

We then came across some manatee that came to close for comfort. So we had to move in fear they might flip the kayaks if they felt threatened. It was nice to see so many manatees in good health but the large sea cows can be quite intimidating in a plastic kayak.





 We continued fishing a new area and came across a large redfish sitting in a sand hole in a oyster bar area with no luck, we moved on to catch more trout.





Pat Practiced proper handling techniques using a lip grip and trying to handle the fish out of the water for the shortest amount of time possible. He made sure to wet his hand before touching the fish ensuring the protective slime coating would not be removed from the trout. Please remember to practice proper handling techniques especially as it is trout breeding season, therefore season is closed on the trout. So remember to practice catch and release.

I managed to catch quite a few trout also but only took one picture of a large 18" trout.

As Always,
Tight Lines