Saltwater: Good catches of snook available around the Tampa Bay area

Fish of the Week

Snook: Good catches of snook and some big, post spawn fish are being caught around the Tampa Bay area and locations elsewhere.

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

1: At Big Pier 60 in Clearwater, Spanish mackerel are steady catches most days again this week. Decent numbers of snook, speckled trout, sheepshead and mangrove snapper have also come over the rails. A few whiting and a redfish were also caught this week, reports Big Pier 60 Bait & Tackle (727-462-6466).

2: At Madeira Beach, nearshore there’s still a few hogfish around the 60-foot mark. The lane and mangrove snapper bite is good and the mangroves get bigger the deeper you go. A few decent sixe red grouper are also in the mix. Deeper offshore, the red snapper bite is good starting around a depth of 100 feet. However, the real big red snapper are biting at a depth starting around the 140-foot mark. The red, gag and scamp grouper bite is also good, reports Capt. Dylan Hubbard of Hubbard’s Marina (727-393-1947).

3: At John's Pass, “there was more snook in the pass than I’ve ever seen around the docks on Thursday morning. The beginning of the outgoing tide has produced the best bite,” reports Hubbard. A few redfish are biting at night and at first light on the bottom around the dock and bridge lights. A redfish was also caught off the beach this week. Trout are also biting at night around the lights. Mangrove snapper are also thick and there’s good numbers of sheepshead still around. Pompano, snapper and a few flounder have been caught off the jetty, reports Hubbard.

4: At Fort De Soto Park, there’s small, but keeper size mangrove snapper at the bridge and marina area, along with sheepshead up 14 inches. There’s just a few snook around this week. Decent size trout up to 17 inches are biting on the area grass flats. Good numbers of redfish have been caught around Tarpon Key. The boat ramp is also good for snapper and sheepshead. The Gulf Pier is producing mackerel early, along with some pompano, snapper, sheepshead and a lot of sharks. Snook are biting in the rocks at the base of the pier and along the beach. Schools of pompano are off the north beach point along with good size whiting, reports Capt. Claude Hinson at Tierra Verde Bait and Tackle (727-864-2108).

5: Around the Sunshine Skyway and lower Tampa Bay, with the full moon phase this week, the mangrove snapper bite is as good as it gets inside Tampa Bay. The snapper are everywhere, even on the grass flats. The edges of the shipping channel have been best for the bigger snapper. Small scaled sardines and pinfish have been best baits. There’s still some snook on the beaches and in the passes, but the spawn is pretty much over. Look for the snook to be moving back inside and feeding on small bait on the grass flats, reports Capt. John Gunter of Palmetto (863-838-5096).

6: At Anna Maria, the mangrove snapper bite is good on the nearshore hard bottom reefs. Snapper are also biting in Longboat Pass, most structure in the area and the bridges. Trout fishing is good for fish 14 to 15 inches around a depth of 4 to 6 feet, from Terra Ceia all the way south to Sarasota Bay. A few scattered mackerel and bluefish are biting in the sound. Good numbers of snook are biting around the creek mouths and island points. Rattlesnake Key has been really good. A lot of snook are also still running the beaches. Whiting are being caught on the edges of the passes and off the beach, reports Capt. Scott Moore of Bradenton (941-713-1921).

7: At St. Petersburg, “the mangrove snapper are really chewing just about anywhere there’s structure.” Sardines and pinfish are producing a good bite around the Skyway, the channel at Port Manatee, the reefs in the bay and also around the Gandy Bridge. The fish are really good size too. There’s still a lot of tarpon in the bay, around the bridges and at the Skyway. Tarpon are also on the beach, just off the swim buoys. Gag grouper are also biting along the channel and at the Skyway. The snook and redfish bite is good around Weedon Island. Deeper grass flats are producing some trout. Big snook are also biting on cut bait on the approach flats at the north Skyway, reports Larry Mastry at Mastry’s Tackle (727-896-8889).

8: In the north end of Tampa Bay, the mangrove snapper bite is real good around the bridge and structure in the area. Pompano and black drum are also biting around the bridge pilings. There’s still tarpon around the bridge lights at night, along with plenty of sharks. The snook and redfish bite is good on the surrounding flats and also over around Picnic Island. The back side of Picnic Island has been producing a good trout bite. The upper bay is producing snook along the sandy shorelines and good numbers of redfish. Tripletail are biting on the crab buoys around the Howard Frankland, reports Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551).

Elsewhere

• At Homosassa, free lined live baits are producing redfish around the outside keys and mangrove island points. The area south of the river is producing good speckled trout action on dark colored soft plastics, under a popping cork, fished just above the rocks. Look for water with rock grass, about 4 feet deep and fish the outgoing tides. Scalloping will be best this weekend on the late morning low tides, reports Capt. William Toney of Homosassa Inshore Fishing Charters (352-621-9284).

• At Fort Pierce, offshore the two-day open red snapper season produced decent numbers, but many anglers said it was hard to get past the amberjack. The mangrove snapper bite is good on the bottom at 80 foot, but cool water the last few day has slowed that bite. Up top, there’s plenty of kingfish and mahi up to 25 pounds. A good number of sailfish are in the area as well. At the inlet, whiting are in the surf, but the weeds are still thick. Inside the inlet, snook are biting live baits during the day. Snook are also biting around the bridges inside at night. Mangrove snapper up to 13 inches are biting from the bridge catwalks and the Melody Lane Pier. Deeper water mangroves and docks are producing some trout in the river, 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: Good catches of snook available around the Tampa Bay area