Guide bites
Capt. George Hastick (727-525-1005): Capt. George reports the redfish bite continues to improve, with small schools of fish showing up along the Pinellas County side of the bay from St. Pete up to above the Howard Frankland Bridge. In addition to schools, scattered fish are hugging the flooded mangroves. Live sardines and fresh cut bait are working well. The snook also are in the shade of the mangroves, taking live sardines best. Trout fishing has been solid, with fish on grass bottom in 5 to 6 feet of water below the Gandy Bridge. Live sardines are working, but jigs with soft plastic tails allow anglers to work more water in less time. Plenty of fish between 15 and 18 inches are being landed and when you find one, there usually are more. The mangrove snapper bite continues to be one of the best seen in recent years. The fish seem to be on every kind of structure, with docks, bridge pilings and rocks in 6 to 16 feet of water holding lots of keeper-sized fish. Live shrimp, small live sardines or cut bait works. The larger ones being caught are 16 inches. There still are some Spanish mackerel schooling in open-water areas, but the numbers are declining. A few schools of bluefish have been popping up in their place over the past week.
Tackle shop roundup
Riviera Bait & Tackle (727-954-6365): Billy reports more anglers are finding redfish, including some bulls that are well oversized. The fish are beginning to school more and more, and several anglers reported taking multiple fish from the same school. Both sides of the bay above the Gandy Bridge have been giving up fish, with the flats around 4th Street particularly productive over the past week or so. Live shrimp, soft plastic jerk baits and spoons have been working, but fresh cut bait seems to be producing the best catches. The snook are making their move into backwaters ahead of fall, even though the Bay water remains very warm. Mangrove snapper fishing has been excellent, with anglers using live shrimp taking fish around dock and bridge pilings, rock jetties and the artificial reefs.
Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551): Bill says his customers have been slamming the mangrove snapper. Shrimp fished around rocks, docks, and under the bay bridges have been producing lots of keeper-sized fish and plenty of limits have been reported. Anglers are finding some schooling mackerel in the middle of the bay below the Gandy Bridge, and there has been an uptick in the redfish bite over the past week. Most of the better redfish reports have been coming from the northern part of the bay, with some schools being found around mangroves and flooded oyster bars. Fresh cut bait has been the go-to choice for them. The big tarpon are still being found up the bay, but no place has been producing hookups like the Skyway Bridge. A few have been hooked around Port Manatee. The Skyway also has been producing the best Spanish mackerel catches. Trout fishing has been good along many of the channel edges that rise up to grass flats. Live shrimp or jigs with soft plastic tails are working well.
Clearwater Bait & Tackle (727-669-5455): Bob reports anglers working along the Courtney Campbell Causeway have been taking some fair numbers of trout, with the bridges there giving up a few redfish and snook. A few anglers reported tangling with big jacks.
