Fishing for tarpon is good for Tampa Bay area anglers
Fish of the Week
Tarpon: Fishing for tarpon is good for Tampa Bay area anglers. Fish are biting in the passes, around the bridges, along the beaches and up in the bay.
Strike Zone, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Elsewhere
1: At Big Pier 60 in Clearwater, Spanish mackerel have been caught nearly every day again this week. Speckled trout, whiting and a few pompano are also biting. Regular anglers are targeting snook, but there’s no big numbers yet, reports Big Pier 60 Bait & Tackle (727-462-6466).
2: At Madeira Beach, Spanish mackerel are running off the beach out to about 40 foot. Deeper offshore, the red grouper, along with lane and mangrove snapper bite is good starting at 70 foot out to about a 100 foot. Big Key West grunts and porgies are also plentiful, reports Capt. Dylan Hubbard of Hubbard’s Marina (727-393-1947).
3: At John's Pass, tarpon are in the bridge lights at night and at first light in the morning. A few tarpon are also along the beach. Snook have definitely made their way back into the pass and the summer time is pattern setting up. Flair Hawk jigs under the bridge and around docks are getting the best bite. Trout are also biting around the same docks and lights under bridge. Trout are also on the inside flats and on the beaches just outside the pass. There’s still a few sheepshead on the docks, and more mangrove snapper are showing up. The jetty is producing a few flounder, pompano and whiting. Spanish mackerel are biting just outside the pass and along the beach, reports Hubbard.
4: At Fort De Soto Park, there’s still plenty of tarpon around Tierra Verde and under the bridge during the afternoons and early evenings. The mangrove snapper and sheepshead bite is good around the bridge the new jetty. A few snook and black drum are also around. Trout and redfish are decent on the area flats and snook are running the mangrove lines on their way out to the pass. The Gulf Pier is producing snapper, sheepshead, Spanish mackerel, jacks and plenty of sharks. More flounder are being caught around the boat ramp and in Bunces Pass. The pass is also producing pompano, reports Capt. Claude Hinson at Tierra Verde Bait and Tackle (727-864-2108).
5: Around the Sunshine Skyway and lower Tampa Bay, Tarpon are crushing the shallows and we’ve hooked two this week in the 100-pound class, while trout fishing. There’s also a lot of tarpon at the Skyway Bridge. Mangrove snapper seem to be on any piece of structure right now and they’re especially biting well around the bumpers at the Skyway bridge. The Emerson Point area is holding some nice trout on the outside of the main sandbar, reports Capt. John Gunter of Palmetto (863-838-5096).
6: At Anna Maria, tarpon fishing remains good along the beach and getting better each day from Bean Point south to Longboat Pass. Snook fishing remains good around the Seven Pines area and a few nice redfish are also in the mix. More mangrove snapper are starting to move in around Longboat Pass and the area bridges, reports Gunter.
7: At St. Petersburg, the tarpon have moved in really good. There’s fish in Tierra Verde, around the Skyway and up in the bay. Good numbers of snook are along the edges of the mangrove flats around Fort De Soto. There’s also snook in the passes and moving out onto the beaches. Good numbers of Spanish mackerel are in the bay and there’s plenty of bait around. Mangrove snapper are biting along the shipping channel and around most structure. Pompano are biting around the bridges and passes on the outgoing tides. Pinellas Point is good for trout and Spanish mackerel, reports Larry Mastry at Mastry’s Tackle (727-896-8889).
8: In the north end of Tampa Bay, tarpon are around the bridges at night all the way up to the causeway. Plenty of blacktips, some bulls and spinner sharks are moving in too. The Bayside Bridge is also producing some tarpon during the day. Mangrove snapper are moving in good around structure and both sides of the bay are producing. The snook bite is good on the flats along with some redfish mixed in. A few trout are biting in deeper water along the edges and in the pot holes on the flats. Markers in the bay are good for cobia and tripletail. Plenty of Spanish mackerel are also up in the bay, reports Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551).
Elsewhere
• At Boca Grande, “Big winds have blown out the bite this week. Most of the tarpon are missing, but there’s still few around. We jumped one on Wednesday morning, but the wind limited fishing again on Thursday morning. This weekend’s fishing should improve with the new moon phase and the tides,” reports Capt. Greg Penix of Lakeland (863-860-2502).
• At Fort Pierce, offshore, it’s been windy, but there’s some mahi at the 100 to 250-foot mark. The bottom bite is decent for mangrove and mutton snapper. At the inlet, whiting and the occasional pompano are biting in the surf. A few snapper and jacks are biting from the jetty. Inside the inlet, snook action is good on live bait, especially croakers. Snapper are also biting inside around the bridges, reports Clint Walker at the Fishing Center of St. Lucie (772-465-7637).
Compiled By Michael Wilson / Ledger Correspondent
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Fishing for tarpon is good for Tampa Bay area anglers
