Guide bites
Capt. Chuck Rogers (813-918-8356): Capt. Chuck says the warming after the last cold front brought bay water temperatures back up in the low 70s, resulting in fish returning to the outside waters and flats. Most of the scaled sardine schools remained deep in channels and under bridges, though more may be on the flats if water temperatures rise more. He’s done well on reds at the top of the bay, with fish around Double Branch and rocky creeks. Higher tides have been best. Live bait and jigs with soft-plastics worked slowly have been producing short to oversized fish. Some trout have been gathering just off the creek mouths, with jigs and live sardines taking them. Working docks for reds also has been productive. While fishing them he’s spotting more and more sheepshead. A half shrimp or a live fiddler crab will work on them. The bay water has been very clear, so using a 10- to 15-pound-test fluorocarbon leader improves the odd of a bite on the reds and sheepshead. The silver trout anglers have been gathering off the Weedon Island power plant and based on how long the boats are staying there, he’s certain they are catching them. Mangrove snapper are on docks all over the bay, but we are at a point when the bigger ones are moving offshore. He fished docks around Port Manatee area and landed 50 snapper or more, all of them small. Offshore, the hogfish bite is on and there are lots of big ones. He did well in 50 feet of water, taking limits using live shrimp.
Capt. George Hastick (727-525-1005): Capt. George reports that warming that began last week put the fish in a feeding mood. Reds and snook have retired to the outside flats, moving up around flooded mangroves on high water. He’s been finding them below and above the Gandy Bridge, mostly working the Pinellas side of the bay with live sardines. The reds have been running from undersized to 30 inches. The snook are right there with them, sometimes close to the growth and other times venturing 30 feet out onto the flat to hunt for baitfish. Most the snook have been 20 to 25 inches, though his anglers have landed some to 30 inches. One trip saw 12 snook landed and released. Another effective pattern for the reds has been dock hopping, with live sardines and sometime live shrimp the top bait choices. He hasn’t been targeting them, but more sheepsheads are showing up on many docks. Trout are on the grass flats that have a lot of sand holes in 4 to 6 feet of water. Sometimes they are around the drops into deeper water, but with some warmth from the sun, they typically move shallower. Live sardines of quarter-ounce jigs with Sea Shad soft-plastic tails are working well. While fishing for reds, one of his anglers landed a 23-inch trout, though most landed over the last week have been smaller, in the slot range. Some trout are in a winter pattern, hanging near the bottom in deeper residential canals, so that is an option. Schools of jacks are showing up in many places in the bay.
Tackle shop roundup
Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551): Zack reports that customers have been seeing some good action on a variety of species. Many have been landing flounder, though the season is closed. A few cobias have shown up, with fish hanging around channel and tripod markers. Some of them have been large. Trout fishing rebounded nicely with the warming bay. Anglers reported nice catches of keeper-sized fish on grass flats above and below the Gandy Bridge. Live shrimp or jigs have been the baits of choice. Redfish reports came in from anglers fishing the flats off Weedon Island, but also a few from the top of the bay above the Courtney Campbell Causeway, where the oyster bars and creeks have been producing. More and more sheepsheads are showing up around rocks, docks and bridge pilings. That will only get better after another cold front or two. Live fiddler crabs or shrimp are good baits to use, with a split shot to get the bait to the bottom when the current is running.
Riviera Bait & Tackle (727-954-6365): Jacob says fishing over the past week has been great, with redfish a highlight. From near the mouth of the bay to Gandy Bridge, many reports of big catches have come in, though some reported lots of small fish. For the big reds, the action has been at the top of the bay. The warming last week brought snook back out into open water, working mangrove lines and around docks. A few have even been found hanging over artificial reefs in the bay. Sheepsheads are on the reefs, as well, but as the water cools, look for more to move to docks and rocks in shallower water. Use live shrimp, dead shrimp or live fiddler crabs. Mangrove snappers are thinning out, with the bigger fish starting to move out of the bay. Look for the big push of them offshore on the new moon. A few have been fishing around crab buoys just off the Gulf beaches for tripletail. The catches have not been great, and a few anglers have been lucky.