Summer Reds in the Bay

A nice Tampa Bay red on fly.

I admit it. I always believed reds did not tail in Tampa Bay in the summer. I assumed the water was too hot, that there was too much pressure, not enough turtle grass, etc. But I was wrong. They do tail in the summer. Maybe not as much as Fort Desoto or Honeymoon and other spots closer to the gulf, but bay fish do indeed tail in July. Matthew McMurtrey (see photo) caught this tailer last week on the last of the outgoing new moon tide at sunset. That same evening, I fished another location less than a mile away and saw tailers on the last of the outgoing. I had to wait until sunset, but they were there. So now I've adjusted my theory: Fish in the bay do tail in the summer, but tides and conditions have to be just right. The habitat and tides are not as conducive to tailers as the Fort and Honeymoon, but it's doable with a little luck and a lot of planning. The main thing to remember is flats near the gulf are easier to time due to proximity. In the bay, we're limited to morning fall and winter tides much of the year, at least for tailers.