Saltwater: Redfish action remains steady in Tampa Bay

1: At Big Pier 60 in Clearwater, Spanish mackerel have been regular catches nearly every day again this week. Sheepshead are biting around the pilings. A couple of redfish, black drum and some silver trout have also been caught. Jack crevalle and bonnethead sharks are also biting in good numbers, reports Big Pier 60 Bait & Tackle (727-462-6466).

Fish of the Week

Redfish: The redfish action continues to be good for Tampa Bay area anglers and at locations elsewhere.

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

2: At Madeira Beach, gag grouper are still biting nearshore while trolling plugs as shallow as 20 feet from Indian Rocks Beach to Clearwater. Plenty of Spanish mackerel and a few kingfish showed up nearshore off the beach at Blind Pass this week. The bottom bite for snapper, porgies and grunts is good at the 50-foot mark. Some tripletail are holding on the crab pots and buoys off the beach, reports Larry Mastry at Mastry’s Tackle (727-896-8889).

3: At John's Pass, there are still good numbers of redfish in the pass around the bridge and the jetty. Spanish mackerel are biting from the end of the jetty and nearshore off the beach. Good numbers of sheepshead, a few mangrove snapper and the occasional flounder have been caught from the jetty. There are still a few snook around, but most are transitioning into the creeks and back bays, reports Mastry.

4: At Fort De Soto Park, the marina and the bridge are loaded with sheephead and mangrove snapper. Good numbers of tarpon from juvenile, 30-pound class fish up to 100 pounds are all over the bridge area. Tarpon are also around the Bayway bridge, Egmont Key, the Skyway and the beach. The area flats around Tarpon and Jackass keys are producing trout up to 18 inches. There’s still a good bite for mostly big, overslot-size redfish around East Beach. Poacher’s Hole by the marina is also producing good numbers of redfish. The Pier is loaded with bait and plenty of Spanish mackerel. The pier is also producing mangrove snapper and sheepshead on the pilings. Schools of jack crevalle are also cruising the pier area. Bunces Pass is producing a few pompano on Doc’s Goofy Jigs, reports Capt. Claude Hinson of Tierra Verde Bait and Tackle (727-864-2108).

5: Around the Sunshine Skyway and lower Tampa Bay, the speckled trout fishing in and around Terra Ceia Bay has been very good this week. Good numbers of slot, keeper-size and over-slot fish have been caught. Live scaled sardines on the grass flats in 3 to 6 feet of water have produced the best bite. Plenty of snook and redfish are also in the mix around Seven Pines and the Bulkhead area, reports Capt. John Gunter of Palmetto (863-838-5096). The docks around the mouth of the Manatee River are producing decent numbers of redfish. Good numbers of Spanish mackerel are up in the bay and the Skyway area is loaded with them. Gag grouper and mangrove snapper are still biting along the channel and on the reefs in the bay, reports Capt. Shawn Crawford of Florida Sport Fishing Outfitters (941-705-3160).

6: At Anna Maria, tripletail have shown on the stone crab traps along the beach just off Anna Maria Island. Kingfish have also started to make a showing nearshore from 3 to 7 miles over areas with hard bottom. Plenty of Spanish mackerel are also in the mix, reports Gunter. Structure around Longboat Pass and the bridges are producing sheepshead and a few mangrove snapper. Some of the docks in the sound are producing redfish. Deeper edges of the flats inside Longboat Pass are producing good-sized trout and some redfish, reports Crawford.

7: At St. Petersburg, the sheepshead bite has picked up around the bridges and most structure. Good numbers of Spanish mackerel are off the beaches, in the bay, around the Skyway and on the range markers in the bay that are holding bait. Mangrove snapper and gag grouper are biting along the shipping channel, especially around Port Manatee and on the reefs in the bay. There are still a few tarpon around the Skyway and the Tierra Verde area. Redfish action is good around the keys at Fort De Soto and some of the docks at Pinellas Point and Bayboro. The snook bite is also good in the canals and around the dock lights at night around Pinellas Point, Bayboro and Coquina Key. Tripletail are holding on the markers, buoys and the crab pots off the beach, reports Larry Mastry at Mastry’s Tackle (727-896-8889).

8: In the north end of Tampa Bay, the redfish bite is good around Weedon and Picnic islands. Redfish are also pushing into the upper bay and the bite is good north of the causeway and around the Rocky Creek area. The snook are moving into the creeks and wintertime spots. Some snook have also been caught around Rocky Creek. Plenty of Spanish mackerel are up in the bay and around the bridges. The bridges are also producing good numbers of sheepshead and a few black drum. The mangrove snapper bite is slowing though. The speckled trout bite is good on the deeper edges of the flats on the west shore around Weedon Island and the Fourth Street flats. Gag grouper are biting in the deep channels to the south, reports Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551).

Elsewhere

♦ A Homosassa, sight fishing for redfish with live shrimp is good around the outside keys and island points. Look for the mullet and you’ll find the redfish. Soft plastics under a popping cork are producing speckled trout in 3 to 4 feet of water around the rock grass beds. The nearshore rocks are still producing mangrove snapper and a few keeper-size gag grouper, reports Capt. William Toney of Homosassa Inshore Fishing Charters (352-621-9284).

♦ At Fort Pierce, offshore seas have calmed and there’s a decent bottom bite for mangrove and mutton snapper along with porgies and triggerfish on the 80-foot bar. A few kingfish are biting at the 50- to 80-foot mark and the mahi bite has picked up at 200 feet. At the inlet, the mullet run has slowed. Whiting and better numbers of pompano are biting in the surf. There’s a good snook bite in the inlet and from the jetty and decent numbers of slot-size snook have been caught. Inside around the bridges, sheepshead and black drum are biting. However, the snapper bite has slowed and the sand perch are spotty. A few snook are still biting at the spillway, reports Clint Walker at the Fishing Center of St. Lucie (772-465-7637).

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Saltwater: Redfish action remains steady in Tampa Bay