Saltwater: Redfish biting in Tampa Bay after hurricane waters clear

1: At Big Pier 60 in Clearwater, Spanish mackerel have been caught every day this week. Good numbers of redfish have also been caught, including a couple in the upper slot. Speckled trout, whiting and jacks are also biting. A good size blacktip shark was also caught over the weekend, reports Big Pier 60 Bait & Tackle (727-462-6466).

Fish of the Week

Redfish: Waters are clearing after the hurricane and the redfish bite remains good for Tampa Bay area anglers and locations elsewhere.

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

2: At Madeira Beach, the Spanish mackerel are thick nearshore, but no kingfish have been caught this week. The hogfish bite has picked up and better numbers are biting on structure and hard bottom. Good numbers of lane and mangrove snapper, along with red grouper, are biting on the bottom. Better numbers of gag grouper are moving shallower into nearshore waters. Deeper offshore, big mangrove snapper along with gag and scamp grouper are biting, reports Capt. Dylan Hubbard of Hubbard’s Marina (727-393-1947).

3: At John's Pass, there are a lot of redfish in the pass and just off the nearby beaches. Snook are around the docks and bridge lights at night, but the big females are transitioning to the back bays and inside waters. More sheepshead are showing up around the bridge and the docks. Flounder and Spanish mackerel are biting from the jetty and mackerel are also running the beach, reports Hubbard.

4: At Fort De Soto Park, big sheepshead and decent-size mangrove snapper are biting around the marina and the bridge area. On the area flats, there are decent numbers of trout being caught. There’s good action for redfish around both Tarpon and Conception keys, along with East Beach. Out at the pier, good numbers of Spanish mackerel up to 19 inches are biting. Sheepshead and mangrove snapper are also biting around the pilings. “More and more sheepshead are showing up each day around the area and we have plenty of fiddler crabs at the shop,” reports Capt. Claude Hinson of Tierra Verde Bait and Tackle (727-864-2108).

5: Around the Sunshine Skyway and lower Tampa Bay, the lower bay has really rebounded since the hurricane churned up the water. The water clarity is improving every day and the fish are definitely getting into their fall and season winter patterns. The trout bite has been great in and around Terra Ceia Bay. Plenty of keeper-size and over slot fish have been in the mix. Lower tides in the morning this week made fishing for redfish and snook around the mangroves challenging. That bite has been better on the higher tides during midday and late afternoon. Spanish mackerel are making a good showing all over lower Tampa Bay and bait is plentiful, reports Capt. John Gunter of Palmetto (863-838-5096).

6: At Anna Maria, good numbers of redfish, snook and trout are biting on the incoming tides. The deeper grass flats around Palma Sola Bay, inside the sound and near Longboat Pass have been especially productive. Mangrove snapper are still biting around structure and the bridges and more and more sheepshead are showing with cooling water temps, reports Capt. Shawn Crawford of Florida Sport Fishing Outfitters (941-705-3160).

7: At St. Petersburg, there have been a bunch of tarpon in about 15 feet of water off St. Pete beach this week and they’re feeding aggressively. Better numbers of Spanish mackerel have been showing up nearshore since the hurricane. Gag grouper and mangrove snapper are biting along the channel and the reefs in the bay, especially around the Skyway and Port Manatee. More and more sheepshead are showing up around structure and the bridges with cooling temps. There’s good action for snook and a few redfish in the residential canals and creeks around Bayboro Harbor, Big Bayou and Coquina Key. There’s a decent trout bite off Pinellas Point. Tripletail are biting on the markers and buoys in the bay, reports Larry Mastry at Mastry’s Tackle (727-896-8889).

8: In the north end of Tampa Bay, redfish, snook and tarpon are biting on the flats around both Picnic and Weedon islands. Mangrove snapper and better numbers of sheepshead are biting around the bridge pilings and structure. Good numbers of snapper and snook are also biting on the east side at Culbreath Isles. A lot of sharks, mostly bulls and blacktips, are biting around the bridge. Cobia have been spotted around Ballast Point and along Bayshore. Tripletail are biting on the markers and buoys. The trout bite is hit or miss, a few are biting on the edges and drop-offs on the deeper flats, reports Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551).

Elsewhere

- At Homosassa, the redfish bite is good on the incoming tides around the spoil banks in Crystal River. Freelined pinfish are the best bait and may also catch a snook or a trout. The trout bite to the south has been spread out across the rock grass flats, south of the Homosassa River channel. Soft plastics under a popping cork are producing the best numbers, reports Capt. William Toney of Homosassa Inshore Fishing Charters (352-621-9284).

- At Fort Pierce, offshore when conditions permit, there’s plenty of kingfish at the 50 to 80-foot mark and mahi at 120 to 200 feet. Bottom fishing for mutton and mangrove snapper is decent on the 80-foot bar. At the inlet, whiting and a few pompano are biting in the surf. The mullet run is on. Big schools are heading south and the snook, tarpon and jacks are feeding on them. Inside the inlet, there’s a decent snook bite from the south jetty. There’s also good mangrove action and sheepshead are starting to bite. There are also some redfish in the inlet, but anglers should note, the entire Indian River Lagoon area is closed for harvest of redfish until further notice. Inside around the bridges, snapper, sheepshead and black drum are biting. The south bridge is also producing snook at night. Snook are also biting at the spillway. A few trout are biting around mullet in the river, reports Clint Walker at the Fishing Center of St. Lucie (772-465-7637).

Roy Fuoco can be reached at roy.fuoco@theledger.com or at 863-802-7526. Follow him on Twitter: @RoyFuoco.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Redfish biting in Tampa Bay after hurricane waters clear