# Reds??



## bone1fish (May 8, 2016)

Fishing in Tampa Bay has been really good this year. Catching more snook and bigger trout!! However, Im not seeing nearly as many redfish. Is it me or are others seeing the same?


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## Shadowcast (Feb 26, 2008)

It's been that way for a while. I saw a few in Mullet Key Bayou the other day, but have not seen many on the South Shore. I have contended that there are 2 factors for that:
1. They are just pressured so much that they are challenging to get to eat anything other than a livebait.
2. The snook population has come back so strong from the freeze closure, that they are overrunning the reds and they cannot compete enough for habitat resources. Areas where reds were once abundant, are now lousy with snook. Not saying that reds are not out there, but they are much tougher in TB than in past years.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

I had my spies out at Simmons yesterday and I heard that the juvenile snook were so thick as to almost be a nuisance. The overcompetition theory seems valid.


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

There are no fish in Tampa Bay...except dink snook...

Everyone should just go to the Indian River or Mosquito Lagoon.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

crboggs said:


> There are no fish in Tampa Bay...except dink snook...
> 
> Everyone should just go to the Indian River or Mosquito Lagoon.


Flagrant falsehood...I fished out of Cargill park a couple of months ago and the sail cat bite was on fire.


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

SomaliPirate said:


> Flagrant falsehood...I fished out of Cargill park a couple of months ago and the sail cat bite was on fire.


Damn...thought I was in the fly forum...didn't realize drowning shrimp was on the agenda...


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Where I am, the ‘glades, sailcats even eat popping bugs...

We gave a “two catfish rule”... catch two and it’s time to move...

We’re finding lots of reds down here - but all of them are dinks... A year or two from now and we should have lots of slot sized fish.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

crboggs said:


> Damn...thought I was in the fly forum...didn't realize drowning shrimp was on the agenda...


Everyone knows a sail cat is the ultimate fly catch. Get with the program, son!


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

SomaliPirate said:


> Everyone knows a sail cat is the ultimate fly catch. Get with the program, son!


Been there...done that...burned the program. *lol*


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## MRichardson (May 27, 2010)

I've never heard the concept of "too many snook." Fascinating idea... gonna require some personal looking into.


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## Paul Chancey (Mar 27, 2019)

MRichardson said:


> I've never heard the concept of "too many snook." Fascinating idea... gonna require some personal looking into.


Too many snook, that's a problem I can deal with! Was working from home yesterday and I went out to my dock and saw about a 4 1/2 to 5 ft gar hanging around my floating dock. No snook, no reds, no trout, no Mangroves, not even sheepheads.


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## DBStoots (Jul 9, 2011)

lemaymiami said:


> Where I am, the ‘glades, sailcats even eat popping bugs...
> 
> We gave a “two catfish rule”... catch two and it’s time to move...
> 
> We’re finding lots of reds down here - but all of them are dinks... A year or two from now and we should have lots of slot sized fish.


Bob, I think the impacts of Hurricane Irma are starting to show up in the fishery. It brought a lot of fresh water into the Bay. From what I understand, the salinity levels in Florida Bay and water depths in the inner Everglades are at the best levels in the past 20 years. Apparently there has been a huge spawn of fish and crabs. This has resulted in the big number of juvenile snook, reds and trout. Like you said, give it a couple of years and continued focus on water quality and we could have some great fishing. I just wish scientists could figure out how to restore all of the grass flats that were destroyed.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Sort out our water problems and I’m pretty sure the sea grasses will come roaring back... 
In Florida Bay (like everywhere else) it’s all inter-connected...


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

SomaliPirate said:


> Everyone knows a sail cat is the ultimate fly catch. Get with the program, son!


I think you should commercially harvest all the sail and hard heads cats and sell them overseas to the asian market. Big Money!!!


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## timogleason (Jul 27, 2013)

Seems like my area (Matlacha) lost a whole year class of reds over the summer last year. Seeing almost no 21" - 27" fish. Still getting small and big ones (not as many big ones as before) but not ANY of those slot sized ones. Looking forward to a year with no major water issues...


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

I also fish Tampa Bay but I have not seen any diminished numbers of fish or the size of the fish. I don't fish every weekend so it may not be apparent to me as it would be to someone who is always on the water.


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## backbone (Jan 4, 2016)

I fish TB a lot and I see the same thing. Tons of snook and the occasional red. Its was opposite three years ago.


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## Clay Witt (Apr 1, 2019)

Every Redfish I throw a Fly at in Tampa Bay is terrified...


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Clay Witt said:


> Every Redfish I throw a Fly at in Tampa Bay is terrified...


Tower boats and jet skis will do that...


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

timogleason said:


> Seems like my area (Matlacha) lost a whole year class of reds over the summer last year. Seeing almost no 21" - 27" fish. Still getting small and big ones (not as many big ones as before) but not ANY of those slot sized ones. Looking forward to a year with no major water issues...


I hear they are completely shutting down snook, reds and trout to help with the recover. A guide than works that area told be yesterday about it, but was complaining about it too. I personally think it's a good thing to help with the recovery.



DuckNut said:


> I also fish Tampa Bay but I have not seen any diminished numbers of fish or the size of the fish. I don't fish every weekend so it may not be apparent to me as it would be to someone who is always on the water.


The redtide never really made it past Cockroach up in the Tampa Bay, so those areas where you would fish are still good. Like backbone, I've had no problems catching all the snook and an occasional red up that way. But down here on the lower south side of the bay, west of the Skyway and further south into Bradenton and Sarasota and the outer islands, there is definitely a noticeable difference in numbers from last year.


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Backwater said:


> I hear they are completely shutting down snook, reds and trout to help with the recover. A guide than works that area told be yesterday about it, but was complaining about it too. I personally think it's a good thing to help with the recovery.
> 
> 
> The redtide never really made it past Cockroach up in the Tampa Bay, so those areas where you would fish are still good. Like backbone, I've had no problems catching all the snook and an occasional red up that way. But down here on the lower south side of the bay, west of the Skyway and further south into Bradenton and Sarasota and the outer islands, there is definitely a noticeable difference in numbers from last year.


Thanks Ted,

I have not even fished as far north as CRB. But like I have said, I have only fished casually and have had similar results as previous years. However, I have not seen a cobia or triple tail at all.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

timogleason said:


> Seems like my area (Matlacha) lost a whole year class of reds over the summer last year. Seeing almost no 21" - 27" fish. Still getting small and big ones (not as many big ones as before) but not ANY of those slot sized ones. Looking forward to a year with no major water issues...


 I think when you guys lost a lot of your grass flats and it got turned to mud from all the crab and freshwater that came from opening up the locks, you lost a lot of those slot reds. Find the areas where there is good grass beds left, and you may find whatever remaining slot reds that survived, on those grass beds.


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## timogleason (Jul 27, 2013)

Backwater said:


> I think when you guys lost a lot of your grass flats and it got turned to mud from all the crab and freshwater that came from opening up the locks, you lost a lot of those slot reds. Find the areas where there is good grass beds left, and you may find whatever remaining slot reds that survived, on those grass beds.


Been a slow degradation of the environment. The grass has really been pounded. What was once lush grass beds is now 50% or significantly more dirt. Had no problem catching slot reds (but less every year) but this last year they literally almost disappeared. I think the closures are a good thing. Will give them a break. There were tons of rats this year so if they can survive the summer, should be in good shape. There has been a lot of noise about building hatcheries starting a month or two ago. Not sure of the implications of hatcheries but we definitely need more fish around. Not sure what the answer is.


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## Snookyrookie (Sep 9, 2016)

Seems like reds had a great spawn everywhere last year, there are a million of them in Flamingo this year. Hopefully we can give Mother Nature a little break and she’ll bounce back hard, she’s a resilient lady!


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## tight_lines_fl (May 10, 2018)

SomaliPirate said:


> Everyone knows a sail cat is the ultimate fly catch. Get with the program, son!


i prefer whiskered sea bass


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## sjrobin (Jul 13, 2015)

timogleason said:


> Been a slow degradation of the environment. The grass has really been pounded. What was once lush grass beds is now 50% or significantly more dirt. Had no problem catching slot reds (but less every year) but this last year they literally almost disappeared. I think the closures are a good thing. Will give them a break. There were tons of rats this year so if they can survive the summer, should be in good shape. There has been a lot of noise about building hatcheries starting a month or two ago. Not sure of the implications of hatcheries but we definitely need more fish around. Not sure what the answer is.


In Texas, there are areas(of previous lush shoal and turtle grass) in the Laguna Madre that have not recovered from ten years of brown tide blocking sunlight, higher water levels, and unusually long periods of strong north east wind over the last five years or so. Redfish fry thrive in areas of sea grass, spartina, and a rich, diverse, bottom of the food chain population. This is why there are no red drum in the tropics. Not enough biomass to support the fry. Other wise red drum would dominate the tropics.


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