Guide bites
Capt. Chuck Rogers (813) 918-8356: Capt. Chuck reports that the redfish bite has been solid over the past week, and that action should continue going into the weekend. The fish are biting early in the day and close to mangroves when the water is high. He reports the fish he’s found on the flats when the water is lower have been taking baits. Fresh cut scales of sardines or pinfish have been working better than live baits. There are plenty of sardines on the grass flats in the mornings right now. Snook are starting to make their move into canals, creeks and to just inside rivers in the bay. There still are fish on the outside rocks, bars, points and mangroves, though, and live sardines are what they want.
It’s not a species he typically finds at this time of year, but he’s gotten into schooling bluefish in 10 to 12 feet of water between Picnic Island and near the St. Pete Pier. They are feeding on the big schools of threadfin shad in the open water. He hasn’t been targeting them, but a few sources report they are taking some large mangrove snapper around rocks, bridges and reefs in the bay, and now would be the time to hunt them as they will thin out as the bay cools. Live shrimp has been the best bait. The sheepsheads are starting to show up, as they do when water temperatures fall. We’ll need water temperatures to drop a bit more before their numbers and sizes get to where they need to be to target them.
Capt. George Hastick (727) 525-1005: Capt. George says the snook bite has been good over the past week and he sees that trend continuing. He’s been taking fish between 23 and 33 inches fishing live sardines around mangroves on the moving, outgoing high tides fishing all along the PInellas side of the bay from around Pinellas Point to near the Gandy Bridge. A few of the fish landed have come from under docks. The redfish have been hugging the mangroves along the same stretch of the bay, at times working a bit off the growth and tagging along with schools of mullet. Fish have been ranging from slot-size to oversized, with fish to 37 inches landed on recent trips. Fresh cut bait or live sardines have been working well. Trout fishing has been decent, with most of the fish landed over the past week falling in the slot range at 15 to 19 inches. Live sardines fished around the drop-offs of grass flats has been the ticket, though jigs with soft-plastic Sea Shad tails have taken some of his fish. The drops off flats below the Gandy Bridge also have been giving up some Spanish mackerel ranging from 18 to 24 inches. The macks also are schooling around some of the ranger markers in the bay. Live sardines have been taking them, just be sure to use a light wire leader or at least a long-shank hook to prevent cut-offs. Another option is a spoon, either silver or gold.
Tackle shop roundup
Gandy Bait & Tackle (813) 839-5551: Zack says customers have been scoring some nice redfish along both side of the bay below the Gandy Bridge, with fish around bars and mangroves when the water is up. The trick has been to fish early in the day, as the bite has been tapering off as the sun gets higher. A few anglers have reported that the redfish are around in good numbers above the Courtney Campbell Causeway, as well. Snook are on some of the flooded mangrove shorelines and around hard-bottom points in the same areas, though some have reported that it appears a few are starting to move into creeks and into the rivers. Slot-sized trout are being reported by those fishing the drop-offs along grass flats on both sides of the bay below the Gandy. Live shrimp under a float or jigs with soft-plastic tails take them. Some have landed tripletail around markers and tripods, with live shrimp the top bait. More sheepsheads are starting to show up around dock pilings, rocks and other structure, but it’s still a little early to target them. The first kingfish reports of the season came in over the past week, with anglers reporting a few scattered catches about 10 miles off the mouth of the bay. Fingers are crossed that the big push of kings is coming.
Riviera Bait & Tackle (727) 954-6365: Jacob reports the redfish bite has been great in many parts of the bay, with fish running in small schools around bars, rocks and mangroves. The early morning bite has been best. Snook are gravitating to mangroves in or near canals, with live sardines producing some of the best catches. The mangrove snapper in the Bay appear to be on the move to offshore waters, as is typical at this time of year. Sheepshead take their place around rocks, rock piles, bridge and dock pilings, and it looks like a few more are showing up on the structure, though the numbers are not there just yet. Spanish mackerel schools are thick in spots in the Bay, with the St. Pete reef one place they’ve been landed in numbers. Move closer to the Skyway Bridge and the numbers are even better and the fish have been bigger.