The month of January is prime for silver trout and whiting in Tampa Bay. Both are fun to catch and they are easy to catch. Both species hug the bottom in deeper water, with boat channels and pockets between 10 and 20 feet of water holding them. Both readily take frozen shrimp. A jig head tipped with a piece of shrimp and twitched along the bottom is a good tactic. The silver trout also take jigs with soft-plastic tails. Neither species grows very large, with most silver trout caught averaging around 10 or 12 inches, and likewise for the whiting.
Whiting are in the drum family and are cousins of the redfish. The official name of the species given by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is Gulf Kingfish, confusing to some who know kingfish only as the large mackerel, a pelagic species that generally is found in the Gulf in local waters in fall and spring.
Silver trout and whiting are good on the table, with fried silver trout and whiting a favorite. Because they are small, frying them whole (entrails, head and fins removed) and picking the meat off the bones is not unusual for those not opposed to the slower, more methodical approach. There are no traditional recreational limits on either species, though 100 pounds per day per angler is the default limit for any of Florida’s unregulated species.
Guide bites
Capt. George Hastick (727-525-1005): Capt. George reports that he’s been working waters from along downtown St. Pete to the Gandy Bridge, as well as around the Hillsborough side of the bridge and doing well fishing docks for reds and snook. Despite the recent cold, he’s still finding schools of live sardines to net in 10 to 15 feet of water in canals and around bridges. Sardines and cut bait have been working for the snook and reds, although some days the reds have been responding better to live shrimp…