Guide bites
Capt. Chuck Rogers (813-918-8356): Capt. Chuck says the cold air this week means fish are adjusting to cooler water. The weekend may see them rebound and return to what has been a pretty good bite in the bay. He says we are in the transition between fall and winter and that means there will be ups and downs following cold fronts, so getting on the water after a warming spell following the cold is a winning pattern. The trout are going to be one of the more active feeders, with fish on the drops off shallow grass flats into about 6 feet of water. He’s been using live sardines on them and taking plenty of keeper-sized fish, but the sardine schools are likely to have moved off the flats and into deeper water under bridges this week. Jigs with soft-plastic tails are a good choice. So are live shrimp. Redfish are tolerant of cold water and there have been some schools above and below the Gandy Bridge. He recently found a huge school of the oversized bull reds between the Gandy and the St. Pete Pier but fishing them was impossible due to dolphins chasing and feeding on them. He noted there have been a lot of dolphins around this year and they can be real spoilers for anglers. Mangrove snapper fishing has been pretty good around any structure, including bridge pilings. Live shrimp or fiddler crabs are the ticket. More sheepshead are starting to show up around the same kind of structure now that the water has cooled down. They take the same baits. Capt. Chuck’s anglers have hooked a few small cobias while trout or pompano fishing, with fish up to 15 inches landed. Far too small to keep, they nevertheless are fun on light tackle. Schools of jacks are popping up in many places in the bay and they also provide great sport on light tackle. They will eat about anything thrown at them.
Capt. George Hastick (727-525-1005): Capt. George reports the fishing is good. The cold air this week isn’t likely to change that, with good prospects for the weekend on trout, redfish and mangrove snapper. He’s been dividing his trips between areas along the Pinellas side of the bay near the Gandy Bridge area out to Tierra Verde, working mangroves and docks for mangrove snapper and reds. Docks around Tierra Verde also have been giving up a lot of gag grouper, with several fish up to 20 inches landed and one that measured 25 inches. Snapper to 17 inches have been landed, with reds to 25 inches. Live sardines and live shrimp have been his baits of choice for all three. Anglers may want to fish a bit farther off the mangroves when going for reds, as he’s noticed they have been out at the breaks into about 4 or 5 feet of water on many days. He suggests not moving too close to the mangroves lest the fish lying off them are spooked on the approach. The bait schools have been thick on the flats, but anglers may have to net them in deeper water under bridges and around channels this week due to water temperatures dropping. Prior to the latest cold there were some snook around docks and mangroves, though they likely will be getting nervous and working farther into warmer backwaters soon. Several snook between 20 and 25 inches were taken on trips last week, with a big fish of 35 inches landed. All were on live sardines. Trout have been on grass and sand bottom, moving into deeper water around drops on lower tides. Live sardines and jigs with Sea Shad soft-plastic tails have been taking plenty of keeper-sized fish.
Tackle shop roundup
Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551): Bill reports that customers have been enjoying a pretty good bite. The action will depend a lot on the weather from here on into the winter, with cold fronts throwing the fish off their game, but anglers who fish two to three days after a cold spell typically find the bite turns on. Prior to the cold this week, there were schools of Spanish mackerel all over the bay. Anglers may be able to find them hungry by the weekend, he said. Trout fishing has been good and should continue to be reliable for anglers who work grass flats in 3 to 6 feet of water with jigs and soft-plastics or live shrimp under a popping cork. Grass that is mixed with hard-bottom patches have been the most productive, and anglers are reporting plenty of keeper-sized fish. Schools of jacks are working many parts of the bay, and while not a prized catch, they are a lot of fun to fight on light tackle. Some good redfish catches have been made on the flats above and below the Gandy Bridge. Look for schools trailing schools of mullet. There still are some big tarpon in the bay, with one angler who lives nearshore reporting hooking two large fish on live ladyfish, one of them snapping the tip off of his rod. Others have been taking advantage of them lingering here beyond October, when the bite typically ends, hooking them under bay bridges. Spanish mackerel schools have been around the Skyway and Port Manatee area, and one angler spotted a couple of large kingfish skyrocket out of the water near the port. Bill says anglers may want to think about sampling the waters off the Big Bend and Weedon power plants as bay water temperatures drop. Both block off areas where the warmest water expelled by the plants is located, but fishing as close as allowed can be very productive after cold fronts. He also notes the viewing aerial images online can reveal deeper troughs outside the plant outfalls, which are spots where fish often are holding.
Riviera Bait & Tackle (727-954-6365): Billy says fishing in the bay has been solid over the past week and he thinks by the weekend the bite will rebound following the recent cold air blast. Prior to the recent cold front, schools of mackerel and jacks were showing up from the mouth of the bay up to near the Gandy Bridge. He thinks they’ll remain in the bay until another front or two sends them south to warmer water. The number of sheepsheads showing up around bridges, docks, rocks and other structure is getting better every week. The species is a staple in the colder months, and anglers should do well on them over the next two to three months using live shrimp or fiddler crabs. Trout fishing has been very good over the past week and that should continue, as well. Plenty of keeper-sized fish have been on the grass beds in relatively shallow water, falling into 5 to 7 feet of water as the tide recedes. Live shrimp, plugs and jigs with DOA tails take them. Redfish have been scattered, and angler fishing off Weedon and Picnic islands have been connecting, as well as those working Riviera Bay. While they typically have cleared out of the area by now, there still are some big tarpon in the bay, with anglers hooking up around bridges, so those who didn’t tangle with a silver king during the peak summer months still have an opportunity.