I had the great pleasure of taking Mr. & Mrs. Michael and Adriana Manni fishing. I could not have asked for a better morning. The temperature was 75 degrees with 5 knot winds. The tide was at a negative low. Our targeted species was Spanish Mackerel in the morning and redfish in the afternoon. As we set out from the marina I knew it was going to be a good day.

A few miles before approaching my first spot, just south of the Skyway bridge, I could see a large flock of birds diving into the water. Once I got to my honey hole, there were fish jumping all around us. I saw big Mackerel and other fish pushing the water. Adriana threw in the first bait and as soon as the bait hit the water her reel started peeling line. Our first fish was a yellow tail jack. Michael pitches his bait out and just like the previous bait, WHAM!!! Fish on!! Our morning went just like that. It was one fish after another. There was no bait that would last more than 15 seconds on the water. We caught a few Mackerel but we must have released over 100 Jack’s.

The feeding frenzy was incredible. I broke the Cardinal rule and left that spot while the catching was good. We picked up and went to the mouth of Tampa bay. On my previous trip, we saw big schools of Mackerel, Jack’s Bonita and Kingfish. I went and drove all around and did not see any. I went to a near by dock to see if we could hook up a Snook. Our first bait got hit. We lost that one fish and apparently he told the rest of the fish that were down at the dock because we did not get another bite. I moved again and went to a 30 foot drop nearby Fort DeSoto Fishing pier. I anchored between two stone crab buoys. Not one bite. I picked up again and went back to our first spot. WHAM, FISH ON!! We caught a few more mackerel and a few ladyfish. By then the tide had come in. I told them I had one more place that I wanted to stop and use those fresh ladyfish. We got to the spot and as soon as I anchor this guy decides to anchor right by my boat. Of coarse fishing on a sunday there are lots of “Weekend Warriors” out and some don’t understand or respect space on the water. They were so close that I could have casted my ladyfish right into their boat. The funny part was I had just finished talking to Michael and Adriana about how strange it was to be fishing on the weekend and have no one come and fish right on top of me. Michael said I had spoken too soon. We gave it a little bit of time and Adriana catches another jack. I told her that the Jacks had followed her to this spot. It didn’t take long before my Ladyfish got some action. We missed a few but the last one was so hungry he ate the entire ladyfish with the hook and all. Michael caught his FIRST beautiful 23” Redfish. It ended up being another great day on the water. At the end of the trip Adriana mentioned that she has never been a part of catching and seeing as many fish as she did on this trip. That made my day. Thank you both for allowing me to be a part of your journey and congratulations on your Marriage. Until next time.