Guide bites
Capt. Matt Cowden (727) 534-6603: Capt. Matt said stained water from rain has been the rule along the Pasco coast, but there are plenty of hungry redfish around. Lots of schooling jacks and ladyfish are feeding on fry bait, which the trout also are attacking. Sharks remain abundant on the flats and his anglers have been boating blacktips. Snook have been in the rivers and creeks and taking live sardines. Live chumming can get them feeding. When you hear the pop of a sardine being gulped, quickly cast a live one to the spot and hang on.
Capt. Cody Albright (727) 992-3918: Capt. Cody is staying on the shallow-water gag grouper, doing well fishing ledges in as little as 6 to 12 feet of water from off the Cotee River north to Aripeka. He’s also bagged some cobia up to 41 inches in the same spots, and Spanish mackerel schools have been moving in on him there. Live sardines or cut bait works well. There also are loads of big gags in 20 to 40 feet of water, with live sardines, pinfish or plugs producing. The redfish action along Pasco is really heating up. It takes some time hitting oyster bars and mangroves, but when found they are in big schools and eating live and dead bait. Salt Springs just north of the Cotee River has been a good place to find them. They have been running with the schools of mullet. For snook, just inside the Anclote and Cotee rivers has been productive with live sardines. They also are pushing into many creeks along the coast.
Tackle shop roundup
The Rusty Bucket (727) 645-6598: Capt. Bill says the gag grouper fishing in shallow water northwest of Hudson in 6 to 12 feet of water has been strong. Trolled plugs have been working but live sardines or pinfish fished around rocks also get it done. Most of the limits reported came early in the day, with the bite stalling in the afternoons. Capt. Bill recommends heavy gear with 60- to 80-pound-test mono and the drag tight to pull fish away from rocks quickly. For gags in deeper water, fishing live pinfish in 40 to 100 feet is the ticket, and can produce snapper. Inshore the redfish bite has been great along the Pasco coast. Lots of schools are on the flats up close to mangroves. Cut bait on the open flats and live sardines near the mangroves work.
Tarpon Trading Company (727) 937-1488: Larry says his customers have been scoring limits of gag grouper fishing live pinfish and frozen bait west of the Anclote River in 45 to 50 feet of water. The same depths northwest of Anclote Key also have been producing. Inshore, anglers are catching redfish in the new pass cut by recent hurricanes through Honeymoon Island. The channel spoils coming out of the Anclote River and the shallow flats north off the Fred Howard Park causeway also are giving up a few. The bridges on the causeway are holding snook at times and boaters fishing the grass beds off the park have been taking some good numbers of trout, including some to 22 inches on shrimp or jigs.
Armed Anglers (727) 945-1808: Will reports that customers have been doing very well on gag grouper offshore. West of Anclote Key in 40 to 50 feet of water has been good, but some fishing farther north on rocks in as little as 20 feet have been scoring limits. Live pinfish, cut pins or frozen sardines are working. Inshore, the redfish have been around spoils and mangroves on high water taking cut bait well out of the Anclote River. A few snook remain on the beach at Anclote Key, as well as at Three Rooker Bar. Live grunts take the big ones. Fishing himself in the cut at the south end of Anclote Key, Will took several flounder using live chubs. Fishing grass beds in that area in 8 to 9 feet of water produced trout, though he reports lots of short fish. Jigs, chubs and shrimp work well.