SALTWATER: Fishing for snook is about as good as it gets

Fish of the Week

Snook: Fishing for snook is about as good as it gets. Good numbers are being reported from the beaches, to the passes and along the mangrove shorelines.

Strike Zone, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Elsewhere

1: At Big Pier 60 in Clearwater, another tarpon was hooked again this week and the regular anglers are also catching snook. Spanish mackerel have been caught most days. Decent numbers of speckled trout and mangrove snapper are also biting. A lot of sharks, blue runners, grunts and a few sheepshead have also been caught, reports Big Pier 60 Bait & Tackle (727-462-6466).

2: At Madeira Beach, good numbers of mangrove, lane and vermillion snapper are biting in deeper nearshore waters. Plenty of red grouper, porgies and white grunts are also in the mix. Deeper offshore, the American red snapper and gag grouper bite is excellent. “We’re getting boat limits every trip, but the bite is deep, out past the 160-foot mark,” reports Capt. Dylan Hubbard of Hubbard’s Marina (727-393-1947).

3: At John's Pass, snook are stacked up in the pass and they’re biting in the lights at night and at first light. During the day they’re biting on the bottom. Tarpon are also active early around the bridges. Mangrove snapper are thick around structure in the pass and a few sheepshead are still around. A lot of spadefish have also been caught this week. The jetty is producing a few snook, some pompano, whiting and speckled trout, reports Hubbard.

4: At Fort De Soto Park, at the marina, there’s a few snook and a lot of keeper size mangrove snapper. Big sheepshead up to 19 inches are also biting. Good numbers of tarpon are still under the bridge on the outgoing tides and plenty of sharks are with the tarpon. The area grass flats are producing better numbers of trout, but fewer redfish. Snook are cruising the beaches and a good number have been caught at East Beach and along “Dog Beach.” The Gulf Pier is producing mangrove snapper, sheepshead, jacks and plenty of sharks. A few pompano are biting at the pier. Snook are taking pinfish in the jetty rocks and along the beach. Bunces Pass is holding tarpon, sharks, snook, pompano, jacks and a few flounder, reports Capt. Claude Hinson at Tierra Verde Bait and Tackle (727-864-2108).

5: Around the Sunshine Skyway and lower Tampa Bay, there are a lot of tarpon around the Skyway Bridge and all the bait you could want around the pier. Snook are biting around the passes and the deeper areas and drop offs. There are also plenty of snook on the flats surrounding any of the passes leading into any of the estuaries like Terra Ceia Bay, Miguel Bay, and even the Manatee River. Snook are also around Egmont Key over the deep grass on the east side in around 8 to 10 feet of water, reports Capt. Shawn Crawford of Florida Sport Fishing Outfitters (941-705-3160). The gag grouper bite has been good since the start of season last week. Good size keepers have been being caught throughout lower Tampa Bay. Live pinfish rigged on jig heads along the shipping channel are producing. Tarpon fishing remains good from Egmont Key south to Longboat Pass on the outside and plenty of fish are around the Skyway. This weekend’s full moon will produce good afternoon hill tides, that should produce good crab flushes, resulting in great tarpon fishing. A good amount of redfish are showing up on the higher part of the tides in Terra Ceia and Miguel Bays. Fish tight up to the deeper mangrove edges with live scaled sardines or pinfish for the best action, reports Capt. John Gunter of Palmetto (863-838-5096).

6: At Anna Maria, there are plenty of snook along the beaches of Anna Maria and Longboat Key. There’s also some tarpon on the beach. Mangrove snapper have moved in good around structure in the pass and the area bridges. Deeper grass flats inside the sound are producing decent sized trout. Redfish action is good along the mangroves and some of the docks, reports Crawford.

7: At St. Petersburg, the late afternoon tarpon bite is good in many spots including the Skyway, St. Pete beach, Egmont Key, Tierra Verde, and south to Anna Maria beach. There’s a good permit bite at Egmont along with the tarpon. Snook fishing is good out on the beaches and in the passes. Weedon Island is also producing good numbers of snook. Mangrove snapper are biting around structure at the Skyway and along the shipping channel. Gag grouper fishing is also picking up along the channel, reports Larry Mastry at Mastry’s Tackle (727-896-8889).

8: In the north end of Tampa Bay, mangrove snapper are all over the bridges from the Skyway, north to the Gandy and up to the Causeway. A lot of tarpon, along with blacktip and bull sharks are also around the bridges, but mostly at night. Some snook are around the edges of the bridges, both early and late in the day. During mid-day, they’re up along the mangrove lines and Weedon Island has been especially good. Weedon is also producing some redfish on cut bait on the bottom. Night time dock fishing is also good for snook and some speckled trout. Fourth Street and the Legion Flats are also producing good numbers of trout. Cobia are biting on the big markers in the bay, reports Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551).

Elsewhere

• At Boca Grande, the tarpon bite is steady and we’re catching fish consistently every day. There’s good numbers of fish in most spots, except the beach. Figuring out where they’re biting is the key. One day they’re biting in the passes, one day they’re biting on the hill, the next they may be biting on the beach. You just have to keep moving until you find where the fish are actually biting, reports Capt. Greg Penix of Lakeland (863-860-2502).

• At Fort Pierce, the bite has picked up offshore and the mahi have moved shallower. The troll bite has been best around the 80 to 100-foot mark this past week. A few kingfish are biting from 50 to 80 foot. On the bottom, the mangrove and mutton snapper bite is steady, along with a few cobia. At the inlet, whiting are good in the surf. A few pompano are biting Doc’s Goofy Jigs from the jetty. Mangrove snapper and undersize muttons are also biting from the jetty. Snook are biting inside the inlet on small live baits. Around the bridges, there’s snook and snapper. The Juanita Spillway has steady runoff and a good snook bite, 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: SALTWATER: Fishing for snook is about as good as it gets