How to prepare for your next fishing trip
Getting Prepared for fishing check list
Happy New Year! Now that the holiday season is behind us and the family gatherings come to a close what do we do with the extra time that we gain? It is a great time to get all of your maintenance completed on your boat, trailer, and fishing equipment as we get ready for Spring time fishing here in Tampa Bay. It is a good time to go through your boat and fix anything that is needed to have a great trip on the water. This list can include, trolling motor, live well pumps, hubs, tires, oil changes, water pumps, lower unit gear lube change, fishing poles, reels and stocking up on needed tackle to make your 2026 year a great year for fishing. I try and make it a common practice to replace all the hubs, inspect tires, test batteries with a load tester, go around tighten down any loose bolts on the trailer and also check trailer light connections. The last thing we would want is for any of this to go down during prime time fishing season to slow us down on getting back on the water. It is also beneficial to get your reels maintain, which includes re lubing with grease and make sure everything is working properly smoothly. While you are at, re check your fishing supplies such as hook assortment, leader line, and lures, since during this time of year you can normally get pretty good deals on restocking up your supplies for the year.
Lets Talk Fishing! How to catch bait
Fishing has been great so far this winter season. As the continuous cold front storm through Tampa Bay it seems every other week the fish start hiding in their winter time spots. These spots can be found in creeks, deep channels, or mud flats depending on what species you are trying to target. You can use this Guide to help you locate your targeted species as we navigate through winter time. We have still been using pilchards as our bait of choice as they still can be caught in deeper water, especially around bridges such as the Skyway Bridge and also Gandy Bridge. We like to use Tropicana fish chum this time of year to help draw up the bait from the bottom which makes it easier to catch in deeper water. This fish chum can be purchased at your local feed depot where they supply food sources for horses, goats, dogs, and pond fish. If you do not have one nearby, you can always use the old method of jack mackeral in can that can be easily bought at your local grocery store. Just mix it in a bucket with a little bit of water and throw out sparingly around the bridge or marker to draw in the bait. Along side the fish chum you are going to need a decent cast net in order to get down deep and fast enough to catch the bait fish. I myself like to use a 10 ft 2 lb per foot net with 3/8 inch stretch in order for it to sink fast enough to catch these prized bait fish for this time of year. If catching bait is not your thing, your in luck because during these colder months live shrimp work just as good at times and shrimp can easily be purchased at your local bait shop. Just make sure to get there early cause they normally sell out fast during the winter season.
Searching for the Best inshore Fishing spot
We all know fishing spots are deep well kept secrets when coming to fishing. Anglers normally do not like to share their productive honey holes especially when fishing gets tough. That is ok though because you can become very productive on your own by using certain tools and maps to fish the right location fish are hanging out during the colder months. Typically during the colder months, always look for moving water. Moving water will actually give you a couple of degrees warmer than most spots in the Bay. Even the fewest degrees difference can make and break for a great fishing day. Another focal point would be deeper water such as channels or structure such as rocks or mud banks. Mud banks and rocks like oyster beds hold heat in which the sun has been shining on through out the day and in return the water around it will be a few degrees warmer. The same goes for mud banks. It is not uncommon to find Redfish lurk around the mud along with Snook this time of year since the mud holds heat and this makes it little bit warmer of an area for the fish to be more active when searching for its prey. Google Maps and your GPS imagery on your chart plotter can help you navigate to some of this areas as they typically show oyster beds, deep channels, and mud edges depending on what type of chip you are using.
Target Species for Winter time
Winter time is a great time to target multiple species and it is not uncommon to catch all of them in the same hole as they want to be a little bit warmer for this time of year. Here is a list of species that can be target and some of the habitat they like to forage and roam around. So as the Holiday season passes, it is not a time to get all gloomy but instead to be excited for what is instore ahead of us which of course is Fishing! So go out and go through your check list, get things in order and make it a great year. Tight lines!