Saltwater fishing: Redfish are the hottest bite this week for Tampa Bay area anglers

1. At Big Pier 60 in Clearwater, Spanish mackerel remain the most consistent catch again this week. A few mangrove snapper are biting around the pilings on shrimp and small baits. An under-size gag grouper was caught over the weekend and the usual numbers of jack crevalle are keeping anglers busy, reports Big Pier 60 Bait & Tackle (727-462-6466).

2. At Madeira Beach, more Spanish mackerel are showing up nearshore and there’s good bait on the surface. The hogfish bite is picking up around a depth of 40 feet. Lane and mangrove snapper numbers are steady, along with plenty of porgies and grunts. More gag grouper are starting to move shallower, reports Capt. Dylan Hubbard of Hubbard’s Marina (727-393-1947).

What's Biting: Redfish

Redfish: The redfish bite remains good for Tampa Bay area anglers. Both slot and big over slot size fish have been caught this past week.

Strike Zone, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Elsewhere

3. At John's Pass, snook are still “stacked up in the pass, but they’re finicky and feeding best on the outgoing tides.” Redfish are good on the bottom around the docks and inside the mangrove back bays. Good numbers of mangrove snapper are still biting around structure in the pass. Trout and Spanish mackerel are biting from the jetty and along the beach. The mackerel are thick in the channel outside the pass, reports Hubbard.

4. At Fort De Soto Park, snook, mangrove snapper and few sheepshead are biting around the marina and the bridge. Spanish mackerel and a few flounder have been caught. Pompano are biting around the bridge on the outgoing tides. Most of the other area bridges are producing pompano. Good numbers of redfish, from “rats, to slot size and over slot bulls” are biting on the flats around the keys. Jackass Key is holding some snook. The flats are good for trout up to 18 inches. The boat ramp area inside the park is producing some snook, snapper and a few flounder. At the Gulf Pier, Spanish mackerel are being caught. Mangrove snapper and sheepshead are biting around the pilings. Bait is still thick under the pier and a few tarpon are around. Bunces Pass is holding a few pompano, reports Capt. Claude Hinson of Tierra Verde Bait and Tackle (727-864-2108).

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5. Around the Sunshine Skyway and lower Tampa Bay, large schools of redfish are cruising from the Bulkhead to the Seven Pines area just outside of the mouth of the Manatee River. Some big snook are making their way up into the river. They’re starting to stage around the docks at the mouth of the river. Chumming with live scaled sardines and fishing with a larger free lined pinfish has been productive. Schools of Spanish mackerel are hanging just inside of Southwest Pass and around the Bean Point area. Some tripletail are hanging on the channel markers and along the shipping channel just inside of Egmont Key, reports Capt. John Gunter of Palmetto (863-838-5096). The mangrove snapper bite is good around the Skyway and most structure in the area. The reefs in the bay and the shipping channel are also producing snapper and the fish are good size for inshore. Good numbers of Spanish mackerel are in the bay and the reefs, reports Capt. Shawn Crawford of Florida Sport Fishing Outfitters (941-705-3160).

6. At Anna Maria, redfish have started showing up thick and several schools are roaming the upper sound. A lot of fish are bunching up in places looking to ambush bait. There’s also some schools of black drum, 30 to 50 pounds, roaming the upper sound toward the mouth of the river and Rattlesnake Key. Mangrove snapper are biting around structure at Longboat Pass and the area bridges. The trout bite is good on the deeper grass flats of the sound in 4 to 8 feet of water, reports Crawford.

7. At St. Petersburg, redfish action is good around Big Bayou, the residential docks around Pinellas Point and the oyster beds from the point to the Misner Bridge. Some pompano are biting around Pass a Grille on the outgoing tide and also at the Bunces Pass, Skyway approach bridge. The mangrove snapper and gag grouper bite is still good on the reefs inside the bay and along the shipping channel. Tripletail are on the markers in the bay, along with some of the floating debris. Spanish mackerel are biting along the channel, around the Skyway and nearshore. The reefs off St. Pete beach are holding plenty of mackerel. Residential docks around Pass-a-Grille are good for snook at night. Pompano are biting around Pass-a-Grille on the outgoing tides and at the Bunces Pass bridges, reports Larry Mastry at Mastry’s Tackle (727-896-8889).

8. In the north end of Tampa Bay, Weedon Island is really good for redfish on cut bait on the bottom. The redfish bite is good toward the causeway and south around Picnic Island. The snook bite is good around Weedon and at Davis Islands. Some of the snook are starting to transition to the rivers and creeks. Mangrove snapper and black drum are holding around the bridges. Spanish mackerel are up in the bay and biting around the bridge and along the channel. Good size speckled trout are biting on the deeper flats and drop-offs. Tripletail are holding on the markers and grass lines, especially around MacDill, reports Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551).

Elsewhere

• At Homosassa, the outside points of the keys are producing good redfish and snook on live pinfish. The spoil banks in Crystal River are good for redfish, snook and speckled trout. The area south of Homosassa is good for trout on the outgoing tides. Soft plastics on a 1/8 oz. red jig head under a popping cork are producing around areas with rock grass patches, reports Capt. William Toney of Homosassa Inshore Fishing Charters (352-621-9284).

• At Fort Pierce, the offshore bottom bite for mutton and mangrove snapper is steady at the 80-foot mark. Kingfish action is decent in water 50 to 80 feet deep. Mullet are running the beach north of the inlet and the tarpon and snook are on the chase. Whiting and some pompano are biting in the surf near the inlet. Snook are taking live baits inside the inlet and from the jetty. Mangrove snapper are biting inside around the bridges and along the channel ledges. The Melody Lane Pier is also producing some snapper. Snook, tarpon and some trout are active around schools of mullet in the river, reports Clint Walker at the Fishing Center of St. Lucie (772-465-7637).

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Redfish are biting well this week across the Tampa Bay region