Guide bites
Capt. Chuck Rogers (813-918-8356): Capt. Chuck says the redfish bite along mangroves in the Gandy Bridge area and above has picked up, with small packs of four to five fish hanging close to the bushes when the tide is high. They can be fished out on the flats well away from the growth when the tide is low, but locating them is harder and in the very clear water they are easy to spook. Many of those landed on recent trips have been oversized. Live sardines with their tails clipped have been working and chumming with some cut sardines is being used to get the bite going. The sardines are on the shallow flats in the Gandy area, though getting them early is a must, as once the sun is up they tend to vanish. Trout fishing has been decent on the grass flats, with catches on recent charters in as little as a foot of water using live sardines. Most have been toward the bottom end of the slot size or undersized. Mackerel schools began to show up following the most recent cold front and this week should see more fish up to near the Gandy Bridge. Some bull sharks to 250 pounds have been in the shallows hunting, and as the bay water warms, they will be more abundant. This also could be the week that snook commit to coming out of backwaters to explore shorelines along the bay.
Capt. George Hastick (727-525-1005): Capt. George says he’s picking up snook under mangroves when the water is high, finding fish at Weedon and Picnic islands, as well as growth all around the Gandy Bridge area. Live sardines have been producing fish to 25 inches, with a couple of fish up to 30 inches. The same mangroves are holding redfish, which have been trailing schools of mullet. Live chumming with sardines behind the mullet is giving the reds away and casting a bait to the boils on the surface from a feeding red is getting it done. Trout fishing has been fair, with fish on grass bottom in 4 to 6 feet of water. The grass on Pinellas Point has been pretty good over the past week, with live sardines and jigs with soft plastic Sea Shads working. Rock piles in 10 to 15 feet of water continue to produce some sheepshead, along with a mix of mangrove snapper, grunts and the odd black sea bass. Live shrimp works on all four. Capt. George has encountered a few large black drum around flooded mangroves, with fish to 35 pounds. The fish he’s come across are running in pairs or small pods.
Tackle shop roundup
Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551): Zack says anglers have been reporting schools of Spanish mackerel in the open bay off Picnic Island, and there are many reports of schools from there out to the Skyway Bridge, where the biggest fish have been landed, along with a few small kingfish. Redfish action has picked up over the past week, with anglers starting to do better on the flats at Weedon Island, with flats at Picnic Island also starting to see decent numbers of fish. The Fourth Street flats above the Howard Frankland Bridge also have been producing for some. The higher end of the outgoing tides has been best. Trout have been in the sandy potholes of grass flats in 5 to 6 feet of water, with good numbers of slot-sized fish being landed on shrimp and jigs. There have been some decent catches of pompano in the Gulf passes and a few have been tangling with tarpon on bay bridges at night. Customers continue to pick up some sheepshead around dock and bridge pilings, although as the water warms the bite has been tapering off. Mangrove snapper are on some of the same structure and anglers report the average size of them is getting better. Live shrimp works.
Riviera Bait & Tackle (727-954-6365): Jacob says anglers are connecting with kingfish just offshore of Tampa Bay, not having to go too far to connect. Spanish mackerel are in the bay, with channels and the reef off the St. Pete Pier holding fish. Snook are out and exploring the flats of the bay as the water warms, with live shrimp or live sardines taking them. Redfish action has been good in the Tierra Verde area, with lots of small fish the norm. Live shrimp fished around traveling mullet schools is taking them. The mangrove snapper bite at the Skyway Bridge has picked up, with plenty of 10- to 12-inch fish taking shrimp or cut bait on a knocker rig.