Guide bites
Capt. George Hastick (727) 525-1005: Capt. George says his anglers have been having their way with redfish, which have been showing up in greater numbers over the past week. He’s been taking them from around flooded mangroves along the Pinellas side of the bay from around the area of the St. Pete Pier to above the Gandy Bridge, though he’s sampled the Hillsborough side in the Gandy area and had good luck. Most of the fish landed have taken live sardines and they’ve been in the slot range or oversized. They are running in small pods, moving 20 feet out onto the flats from the mangroves as the tide drops. Some snook are under the bushes with them, with fish from 20 to 38 inches hooked on recent outings. Docks also have been giving up some snook. Both also are in canals on the Pinellas side of the bay. On trip targeting them, Capt. George kept getting cut off, which he figured might be sharks. It turned out to be Spanish mackerel, and he landed a couple up to 24 inches. A jumbo fish estimated at 30 inches was lost at the side of the boat. It’s unusual to find mackerel in canals, particularly with all the freshwater introduced from frequent rains, so he suspects it is the abundance of baitfish he’s seeing in canals that’s been too much of a temptation to resist for the mackerel. Mangrove snapper fishing remains very good, and almost all the fish hooked over the past week have been big enough to keep, with the range typically 12 to 15 inches. Small, live sardines or shrimp take them. Look for them around mangroves on high water, bridge and dock pilings, but also on rock piles in 8 to 10 feet of water.
Capt. Chuck Rogers (813) 918-8356: Capt. Chuck reports that the redfish bite has been on fire in the bay. He’s been finding them around the high tides under the mangrove overhangs fishing the Hillsborough and Pinellas sides of the bay above the Howard Frankland Bridge. The water has been murky from rain and that’s likely to be the case going into the weekend, which is why cut bait has been working best. His anglers have been landing as many as 15 reds on a trip, with most being slot-length and a few undersized. Snook are being picked up on some of the same spots. They have been picking up dead bait but a live sardine with the tail clipped off is a better option. Anglers fishing marina docks in the Gandy area have been scoring some nice mangrove snapper, with fish pushing 18 inches landed over the past week. He hasn’t tried for them under the Gandy Bridge but suspects it’s a good bet they are there. Live shrimp is what they’ve been taking best. There’s been plenty of scaled sardines on the shallow grass flats, but many of the schools have been small. The larger bait has been in the southern part of the bay.
Tackle shop roundup
Gandy Bait & Tackle (813) 839-5551: Zack says there have been fewer customers in the shop due to a lot of rainy days, but those getting out are reporting that the redfish have been the highlight. Fish are bunching up in small schools and lots of slot-sized specimens are being landed. Some of the better reports came from anglers wading off Picnic Island, with others reporting good action on the flats off the American Legion post just south of the Gandy Bridge on the Hillsborough side of the bay. Live sardines and shrimp have been taking them. More and more snook are being taken as fish stage anywhere from the ICW near the Gulf to well north in the bay. Docks, oyster bars, mangroves and creeks are where to find them. There were a few trout reports that came in, but for the most part no one has been bragging much about them. It appears that sheepsheads are starting to show up in better numbers, which is typical of fall. The fish are most active in fall and winter, and it looks like they gearing up for their favorite season. As their numbers increase, look for them to displace mangrove snapper, which inhabit the same kind of structure, including dock and bridge pilings, submerged rocks and bars, as well as artificial reefs. Some customers reported taking tripletail around bay markers and tripods. They can be spotted near the surface and a free-line live shrimp on a light-wire hook is a good way to entice them.
Riviera Bait & Tackle (727) 954-6365: Jacob reports the redfish and snook have been the most consistent catches over the past week, with both around mangroves and docks. If the rains move on and the winds are down this week, look for the bay water to clean up and spark better action with trout on the grass flats. This is the time of year the larger, winter trout begin to show up in greater numbers. There have been good numbers of Spanish mackerel in the bay and that could be a good option for anglers this week. Look for them in deeper, open-water areas and near structure like range markers and around reefs. Fish of good size are becoming more common, with some jumbos possible.