Sheepshead catch remains consistent in cold weather in Tampa Bay

Fish of the Week

Sheepshead: With the extreme cold weather this past week, sheepshead are again the most consistent catch for Tampa Bay area anglers and locations elsewhere.

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

1: At Big Pier 60 in Clearwater, with the extreme cold weather this week it’s been mostly silver trout, whiting and catfish. A few of the regular, local anglers targeting sheepshead have caught a few fish. Warmer weather this weekend should pick up the bite, reports Big Pier 60 Bait & Tackle (727-462-6466).

2: At Madeira Beach, nearshore, hogfish, gag grouper and the occasional mangrove snapper are biting around a depth of 30 to 40 feet. Red grouper and lane snapper season opens on the first of the year. Lane snapper can be found as shallow as a depth of 10 feet. A few red grouper will be shallow around 30 feet, but most will be out in deep water, reports Capt. Dylan Hubbard of Hubbard’s Marina (727-393-1947).

3: At John's Pass, there are plenty of sheepshead around the pass and a few big, black drum are around the bridge and the docks. Speckled trout are biting around the dock and bridge lights at night. Jack crevalle are still biting in the pass as well. Whiting and silver trout are biting from the jetty and on the nearby beach, reports Hubbard.

4: At Fort De Soto Park, over the weekend with the cold weather, the only fish caught were sheepshead at the marina, the bridges and at the pier. A few snook were still hanging around the marina, but they were hunkered down and not feeding. Gag grouper were still biting in the channels and anglers have until Dec. 31 before the season closes to target them. Weather will warm up by the weekend and the bite will certainly improve, reports Capt. Claude Hinson of Tierra Verde Bait and Tackle (727-864-2108).

5: Around the Sunshine Skyway and lower Tampa Bay, gag grouper season is coming to a close on Saturday, but the bite is still very good this week. With the cool weather this past week, sheepshead have really made a good push into the bay. All of the artificial reefs inside the bay are good spots to target these fish. Small pieces of shrimp or fiddler crabs are your best choice for bait. Speckled trout fishing remains good and will only improve with this weekend’s warming weather throughout the lower bay area, reports Capt. John Gunter of Palmetto (863-838-5096).

6: At Anna Maria, with the extreme cold weather, sheepshead were just about the only fish biting this past week. The bridges, rock piles and just about any structure in the area are all producing good numbers. Some of the docks are also producing sheepshead and these fish can’t resist a live shrimp or a fiddler crab if you can find them. With Tuesday’s warming weather, good numbers of speckled trout started biting on the holes and ledges of the grass flats in the sound, reports Capt. Shawn Crawford of Florida Sport Fishing Outfitters (941-705-3160.

7: At St. Petersburg, it’s been sheepshead, sheepshead and more sheepshead. The cold weather has them biting pretty much everywhere. The silver trout bite has started to pick up since the weather started to warm on Tuesday. The area around the north Sunshine Skyway Pier has been producing good numbers of silver trout. A few snook have also started to bite since Tuesday inside the backwaters of Weedon Island and inside some of the residential canals in the area. Gag grouper are biting along the shipping channel and on the reefs in the bay. Anglers should note the season closes on Dec. 31, reports Larry Mastry at Mastry’s Tackle (727-896-8889).

8: In the north end of Tampa Bay, over the weekend with the cold weather, it was mostly sheepshead around the bridges, seawalls and structure. A few whiting and black sea bass have also been caught along the deeper seawalls and in the channels. Cobia were biting around the power plant channels. A few speckled trout were also still biting on some of the flats. On Tuesday, the weather started to warm and the trout bite really started to pick up again. Artificial baits such as paddle tails on the potholes and ledges during the middle of the day are the best baits for the trout. Redfish are biting again on cut and dead bait around the Causeway and the Double Branch area. Gag grouper are biting along the deeper channels to the south and anglers have until the end of this month before the season closes, reports Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551).

Elsewhere

● At Homosassa, as the weather warms up, start with using live shrimp in the deeper holes in the river for black drum, redfish, sheepshead, mangrove snapper and speckled trout. As the weather warms later in the day, move toward the Gulf and target the edges of the deeper channels on the warm side of the sun with a dark bottom. A good bait to target speckled trout in these areas are the MirrOlure MirrOdine. Inshore rocks in 25 to 30 feet will provide good fishing for keeper-size gag grouper until the end of the season on Dec. 31. Heading toward the upcoming full moon phase, look for sheepshead to start hanging around the nearshore rocks and live shrimp will be the best bait, reports Capt. William Toney of Homosassa Inshore Fishing Charters (352-621-9284).

● At Fort Pierce, offshore there have been some mahi around the 200-foot mark out to 300 feet. Some kingfish are biting up top on the 80-foot bar. A few cobia are also biting on ballyhoo and there’s also been some bluefish this week at the same depth. At the inlet, the beach has been a little rough, but a few croakers, pompano and whiting have been caught. Those numbers should improve with the warmer weather this weekend. At the jetty, a 22-inch mutton snapper was caught this week and flounder are biting in the south jetty cove on live shrimp and small baitfish. Good-size catch-and-release snook are biting in the inlet on D.O.A. Shrimp and live baits. Inside around the bridges, good numbers of sheepshead, black drum and croakers are biting, reports the Fishing Center of St. Lucie (772-465-7637.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Sheepshead remains consistent in cold weather in Tampa Bay