Guide bites
Capt. George Hastick (727) 525-1005: Capt. George says the signs of a shift toward a winter pattern are developing, with more fish moving off the outside mangrove lines and into residential canals, creeks and back bays. He’s still working the outside mangroves, chumming with live sardines and picking up snook, though backwater and protected areas are no longer options. It’s the same with redfish. He’s taking them on the mangroves along the Pinellas side of the bay from near the St. Pete Pier up to near the Gandy Bridge, with live sardines and cut pinfish working well. A few rat reds have been in the mix, but most have been large, running from about 23 to 35 inches. Most of the snook have been smaller males, but his anglers have hooked into fish estimated at 35 inches. Capt. George hasn’t been looking for trout, but they are on the grass flats in 5 feet of water, taking live sardines or jigs with Sea Shad tails. Mangrove snapper fishing is pretty good, with fish along the mangroves, on docks and hanging around bridge pilings. A sign that winter is approaching: more sheepshead are showing up around oyster bars and structure.
Capt. Chuck Rogers (813) 918-8356: Capt. Chuck reports the redfish bite remains pretty good, with plenty of slot-sized fish in the mix. Higher tides along mangroves early in the day has been best, at least in the area he’s been working on the east side of the bay above the Howard Frankland Bridge. Live sardines are working, but he’s been doing better with cut bait, including chunks of ladyfish. Deeper, open water up to near the Gandy Bridge has been producing a few mackerel, but windy days often make it difficult to fish them. Trout fishing has been something of a chore, with a good deal of time needed to find a few keeper-sized fish. A sign we are rolling into a winter pattern is that more sheepshead are showing up around docks in many parts of the bay. Docks around Venetian Isle have been one place where some good numbers have been taken. Live shrimp or fiddler crabs are top baits.
Tackle shop roundup
Gandy Bait & Tackle (813) 839-5551: Zack reports that customers have been scoring some nice catches of redfish. The bite has been on the flats around Weedon and Picnic islands, but also north of the Gandy Bridge to above the Courteney Campbell Causeway. Lots of slot-sized fish are being reported. Trout fishing picked up a bit over the past week, with most of the better catches made around the drop-offs into 5 or 6 feet of water just off shallow grass beds. Jigs and live shrimp are good baits. Mangrove snapper fishing around bridge pilings, docks and rocks is decent, with more sheepshead starting to show up on some of the same structure. A few have been taking some nice snook fishing live baits under lighted docks at night in residential canals. In general, reports are that more fish are starting to be found in canals, creeks and backwater spillways. Schools of Spanish mackerel have worked into the bay at far as around the Gandy Bridge. Some have been taking tripletail off range markers in the bay, along with smaller markers in the unrestricted areas near MacDill Air Force Base. Live, free-lines shrimp is a good bait. It’s been windy offshore, but a few boats have reported taking a few kingfish just off the Gulf beaches.
Riviera Bait & Tackle (727) 954-6365: Jacob says more snook are moving into backwaters, canals and into the rivers. Live sardines and pinfish have been good bait choices. Anglers may want to transition to more fishing in protected backwaters, as from here on into colder weather, these areas are where snook, trout and reds will be moving into. Backwater mangroves fished with cut bait or live sardines are the ticket for reds, some of which have been running oversized. Spanish mackerel are in the bay, but a lot of windy days have made fishing them in the open-water area tough. When weather permits getting offshore, anglers may want to look for kingfish.
Angler 360 (727) 669-5455: Customers have been working the creek mouths and mangroves at the top of the bay and taking a few redfish and the odd snook. No one has been bragging about big numbers or big fish, so count on spending some time hunting and covering some water to connect. Trout fishing on the grass above the Courtney Campbell Causeway has been just OK, with a mix of shorts and some slot-sized fish.