Guide bites
Capt. George Hastick (727-525-1005): Capt. George reports bay water temperatures dropping into the 70s has produced a nice bump in the action. He’s spent some time working the flats around Gulfport and Tierra Verde over the past week, taking a nice mix of redfish, trout and Spanish mackerel. The reds have been up around mangroves and just off them. There have been small pods that produce two to three fish on live sardines or cut pinfish. Most have been between 20 and 25 inches. Grass flats in 4 to 7 feet of water have been producing slot-sized trout between 17 and 22 inches on live sardines or jigs with Sea Shad soft-plastic tails. Move to the edges of the flats where it drops into deeper water for Spanish mackerel. Snook have been along mangroves there, but also around dock pilings, with live sardines the top bait. Mangrove snapper are around rocks in 6 to 8 feet of water, as well as around dock pilings. Small, live sardines have been taking keepers. Fishing up around the Gandy Bridge region the pattern has been about the same for all these species.
Capt. Chuck Rogers (813-918-8356): Capt. Chuck says he’s been finding water in the mid-70-degree range in much of the bay between the Gandy and Howard Frankland bridges, where his anglers have been doing well working sandy bottom and off the edges of oyster bars for pompano. Shrimp works but can be picked off the hook by undesirable species, so he’s been sticking to pompano jigs for the most part. The same bottom is giving up a few flounder, including some nice-sized fish. The season on flounder is closed until December, so anglers should take note. Working grass flats between the two bridges has been turning up some slot-sized trout on live sardines. Deeper water in the middle of the bay from St. Petersburg to the Gandy Bridge has been producing a few mackerel, though they are spotty, with just a fish or two coming on board on most trips.
Tackle shop roundup
Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551): Zack reports that customers are enjoying some good fishing now that water temperatures have dropped into the 70s in many places. A high point has been a spike in the redfish bite above the Howard Frankland Bridge all the way up to beyond the Courtney Campbell Causeway at the top of the bay. Slot- to oversized fish have been the norm, and some anglers have been finding nice schools around mangroves and creek mouths. Live and cut bait is working. Snook appear to be working their way into the creeks and the rivers. It seems a bit early compared to past years, but Zack thinks the rapid cooling of the bay water is the reason they are inching toward their wintering spots. A few cobia have been hooked by anglers fishing around tripod, where tripletail have been another catch. Live shrimp works for both, but cobia sometimes prefer larger offerings, like big pinfish. A number of anglers hooked flounder over the past week, but the season closed Oct. 15, so they have to be released. Trout fishing has been solid on the grass flats above and below the Gandy Bridge, with cooler water seeing more fish as shallow as 2 to 3 feet of water. Live shrimp and jigs with soft-plastics take them. Word is that a few kings have been hooked off the Gulf beaches. Look for that bite to fire up as early as the weekend.
Riviera Bait & Tackle (727-954-6365): Jacob says the latest development has been bigger numbers of cobia, with fish being spotted and hooked around markers in the Skyway Bridge area, as well as over artificial reefs in the bay. He hasn’t gotten any tripletail reports, but suggests anglers keep an eye out around markers for them, as well. Some kings are starting to show up off the Gulf beaches. The numbers and sizes of fish are not large, but they are in schools and things should get better over the coming days. Spanish mackerel are everywhere in and off the bay, feeding on the big schools of baitfish. Inshore, snook are moving into the canals and creeks into residential areas. Moving, outgoing tides have been seeing the most active feeding. Reds, and some big bulls, are trailing schools of mullet on the shallow flats. For the smaller reds, nice-sized schools have been feeding well around oyster beds from the Skyway area up to the Gandy Bridge in the early morning. A few pompano reports are coming in, but the bite is very sporadic. Hogfish are thick and hungry offshore inside of 15 miles. Take lots of live shrimp.