Guide bites
Capt. George Hastick (727-525-1005): Capt. George says the warming conditions over the past week have every species fired up. Snook have come to life, and while they mostly remain in backwaters, they are inching their way toward the open bay. He’s finding them around flooded mangroves, with fish 20 to 25 inches common, but a few up to 35 inches. There also are some hanging out under docks. Live sardines are working best. Reds are in some of the same places. Lots of small ones are around, but occasionally a slot-sized fish is taking a live sardine. Trout are on the open grass flats around the drop-offs in 6 to 7 feet of water, taking live sardines, shrimp and soft-plastic Sea Shad tails on jig heads, with plenty of slot-sized fish in the mix. Sheepshead fishing remains strong, with fish around docks on the Pinellas side of the bay up the Gandy Bridge area, as well as submerged rocks in the bay in 10 feet of water or more. Fiddler crabs work well, but for unknown reasons, live shrimp have the edge when fishing the deeper rock piles. The warmer bay has sparked some Spanish Mackerel action, with fish beginning to school in deeper, open-water areas and around the artificial reefs. Capt. George hasn’t targeted them yet, but it’s good to see the option is there. Deep rocks and shipping channels also are giving up some black sea bass, including some nice-sized fish.
Capt. Chuck Rogers (813-918-8356): Capt. Chuck is finding water temperatures in some parts of the bay in the low 70s, which has sparked the bite. He expects that with more warming this week things will only get better. Snook are starting to move and feed, coming out of the creeks and backwaters to hunt. The schools of scaled sardines remain deep in channels right now, but this week could see them venture on the flats, which will only help the action on snook, trout and redfish. Worth noting is that many parts of the bay in the Gandy Bridge region are loaded up with sargassum grass, the thick matts of growth making fishing difficult. The trout are in the patches in big numbers, with fish up to 20 inches common, but he has to fish the edges of growth to avoid fouling the bait. He’s been doing best in 6 to 7 feet of water. Warming conditions mean Spanish mackerel are starting to make a showing in the bay. His anglers were cut off by them on a recent trip off Pinellas Point. As the bay temperatures, rise, they should be more and more numerous. The sheepshead bite remains a good bet, with fish around all types of structure, from docks and bridges to deep rocks. Use fiddler crabs or live shrimp.
Tackle shop roundup
Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551): Bill says we’re in the midst of the “transition” to a spring pattern and barring any late cold fronts (or warming that is too fast), we should be able to count on good action ahead. Spanish mackerel schools are starting to show up to near the Gandy Bridge, a sign that the season is turning. The numbers are not big just yet, but that should change, perhaps as early as the weekend. Another sign of spring is the better numbers of scaled sardine schools. They are still hanging deep in channels but are starting to move onto shallower grass flats, too. There are plenty of reds around, though many customers are noting that juvenile fish are the norm. The fats off Weedon and around Picnic islands have been producing, with the anglers who put in the time able to score slot-sized fish. Trout fishing is good, with on grass bottom in 8 feet of water, but increasingly on shallow rocks, with some big ones being landed on live shrimp. Snook are starting to warm up. A customer who likes to fish dead bait landed one of 30 inches off a chunk of fresh ladyfish. The same technique produced a couple of nice reds for him.
Riviera Bait & Tackle (727-954-6365): Jacob reports warmer conditions have seen more mackerel move into the bay, with the waters off the St. Pete pier holding good numbers. Also encouraging, anglers have been connecting with some pompano in the waters around Tierra Verde. Reds and some black drum have been in the Gulf passes along the coast. There also are lots of reds on the flats, with schools generally moving southward. Snook are responding to the warmth by moving out of backwaters, where they have been holed up since the last big cold front. Jacob is thinking it will be as soon as a couple of weeks before some tarpons begin feeding in the bay, with the crab flush that they target developing now. The deeper grass flats around Fort De Soto have been producing some nice trout action, with fish to 22 inches reported. The bigger sheepsheads continue their trek offshore for the spawn and mangrove snapper are starting to take over their abandoned rocky spots and docks.