May is a spectacular month, if you are looking to catch a wide variety of sought-after fish species. May will have water temperatures that are typically in the upper 70’s to low 80’s. What does this mean to us? It is an inviting water temperature for plenty of bait to move up into Tampa Bay which, in turn, will attract a lot of species of fish and shark. Yes, there has been bait in the Bay, but now it will be thick–especially with threadfin hearing bait balls in the Bay along with plenty of scaled sardines and pinfish. This recipe will bring in some hefty hitters like tarpon and cobia, to name a couple. It will also have a variety of sharks cruising the flats and range markers looking for a meal.
This will also have the flats full of bait, which will turn on the snook, trout, redfish, jack crevalle and, maybe, even some flounder in the mix.
Look for tarpon to be on the bridges and the artificial reefs with juveniles being in some of the backwaters and low oxygen areas where only they are comfortable, since they can breathe air straight from the atmosphere. This protects them from predators that cannot live long under those conditions.
Cobia can be found in many of the same areas as the adult tarpon, but keep an eye out on the flats also. They will often follow or be right underneath a manatee. The manatee scares bait fish out from the grass as it passes over it, and the cobia will take advantage of this to get a free meal. Both the tarpon and cobia love scaled sardines, threadfin hearing and pinfish. So, be ready with a bait to pitch, in case you see that dark shadow of a cobia cruising the flats.
The flats will be loaded with opportunities like shark, redfish, snook and trout; and, keep an eye open for a school of jacks exploding on bait pods. The sharks will be out on the open flat just cruising looking for a snack. A live bait cast out in front of them, or a cut bloody bait usually gets the job done.
Trout at low tide will be at the drop-offs of the flats in 3 to 5 feet of water and will move onto the flat as the tide rises. A popping cork with a bait underneath is one way to attract them to your bait. Cast out, pop the cork a few times, pause, then real a little and repeat. This is a deadly tactic for them.
Snook and redfish will hang out in the general vicinity of each other. Whether that is a mangrove tree line or an oyster mound with a trough cut out in front of it from the current, these areas that have tidal movement will move bait, and that is what they are waiting for. A well-cast scaled sardine will usually get the hit. That might be casting under the mangroves or just up tide of an oyster point and letting the current drift your bait to the fish for a natural presentation, that they can’t resist. So go out and catch your variety. Good luck!