Guide bites
Capt. George Hastick (727-525-1005): Capt. George reports that he’s been doing well on a variety of species. Over the past week he’s concentrated on shorelines and canals north and south of the Gandy Bridge on both sides of the bay. With cooler water the sheepsheads are fired up and there are more large fish. Rocks in 8 to 10 feet of water, along rock jetties, bridge pilings and docks are holding lots of them. He’s found that in the deeper water live shrimp has been best, but in shallower depths live fiddler crabs produce better. Trout fishing in these areas has been pretty good on grass flats with sand holes in 5 to 7 feet of water. Sea Shad soft-plastic tails on jig heads are working well, as is live shrimp and sardines. The scaled sardines have shifted to deep water, so netters will need to throw in 12 to 15 feet of water in canals or under the Gandy Bridge to take them. Redfish have been around d mangroves and under docks in good numbers, though the majority over the past week have been on the small side. Moving and working a lot of water will produce some slot-sized fish up to 23 inches. Live shrimp and live sardines have been his go-to baits. Snook are in deeper canals, but also around flooded mangroves when the sun is high and warming the water a bit. Most have been smaller males between 20 and 25 inches, with live sardines producing. He’s spotted snook to 38 inches, though his anglers had no luck getting these big fish to take a bait. Schools of jacks have been running in the Gandy area, with fish 2 to 3 pounds typical. They will take about any natural or artificial bait thrown their way.
Tackle shop roundup
Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551): Zack says customers have been reporting some good action on sheepshead, as the cooling water temperatures have them in a feeding mood. Live shrimp and fiddler crabs fished around rocks, dock and bridge pilings are producing, with some large ones landed. Some black drum have been on some of the same spots, with some quite large. There still are a few mangrove snapper around the same spots, but they are moving more and more to the deeper channels or offshore as the weather cools. Trout fishing has been pretty good on the flats around the Gandy Bridge area, with fish on grass bottom in 5 to 8 feet of water midday when the sun is high. Customers have connected with slot-size and small reds fishing the flats at Weedon and Picnic islands, though some have reported fishing around the creeks at the top of the bay have been seeing much better action on them. Double Branch Creek is one of the spots producing. Live shrimp or pinfish takes them. With cooling water, the whiting bite is on. Anglers fishing the channel out of the Gandy boat ramp have been taking some good numbers. The species likes to hang near the bottom in 10 feet of water or more and they like live or frozen shrimp. Snook have pushed into deeper residential canals all around the bay, and many others are pushing into the rivers, where they will wait out winter.
Riviera Bait & Tackle (727-954-6365): Billy says anglers are having some good days on sheepshead, which really like the cooling water. They are hanging around any kind of structure, including rocks, dock and bridge pilings, as well as jetties. Live shrimp works, but many do best with live fiddler crabs. Trout are on the grass flats in up to 7 feet of water and there are some monster fish around. Looking under a dock at a friend’s house in Sunset Beach, Billy spotted some trout up to 6 pounds hanging out. He also noted some oversized snook. As the bay water cools, more and more fish will be taking up residence in canals. Redfish have been bunching up in small schools and following schools of mullet on the shallow flats around mangroves and oyster bars. The reds use the mullet moving ahead of them to flush small crabs, shrimp and baitfish off the bottom, making for easier meals. Some of the better catches over the past week have been on flats at Weedon Island and Christmas Pass. Offshore, a few anglers fishing not far from the shipping channel in 80 feet of water or more have been scoring blackfin tuna. While no worthy kingfish reports have come into the shop recently, some have been connecting with schools of Spanish mackerel in the Gulf just off the bay. Hogfish action has been good in 40 feet of water or more, with fish on rocky bottom and taking live shrimp best.