The Hills: Solved

I've been trying to figure out how to best fish the Hillsborough River. Some days the water is totally barren, while other days I'll be able to reel in a stray ladyfish. Lucky for me, I have a variety of data available to help inform my fishing opportunities.

Before I decided to fish today, I considered the following:
1) The tide charts indicated a strong, incoming tide today.
2) The COMPS station indicated warm water at 66 degrees, and middle to high salinity, at 24.5.
3) The solunar tables showed a 4 star day (which is the best). Solunar tables can inform the strength at which fish will feed. The peak time was 12:55pm.

I first set out to fish the bridge that connects downtown Tampa to Kennedy Boulevard. I was surprised to get a strong hit on my first cast--so surprised that I totally missed the hook-set. Over a half-hour, I had two smaller bites, but no hook-ups.

I then walked further down the seawall to a spot where I've had success in the past. I had a consistent bite on four consecutive casts, but couldn't set the hook. I noted that the fish were coming up from very deep to make the hit, so on the next cast, I ran the lure down a few feet, then commenced working it in.

BAM! Fish on. BIG ladyfish. It was 20" plus easy.

I landed it and then threw out the Yo-zuri, again running it deep before working it in.

BAM! Fish on. Another BIG lady. I measured this one against my pole at 20 inches.

Can he do it three times in a row?

Yes he can! BAM! This lady was monstrous, and jumped 9 times before I got her in. The Yo-zuri was a little deep in the mouth, so I grabbed my pliers and went to remove the hook. The lady chose that moment to thrash and pushed the line up against my pliers and broke it off.

The ladyfish floated, stunned for a moment, and I grabbed it around the belly, but it woke up and shot off like a rocket, my Yo-zuri with it. In the excitement, I had also knocked my pliers in the water, so it was a two-loss fish.

Regardless, I was feeling pretty high at figuring out the Hills. Can't wait to get back out there.