The tarpon bite has really turned on for Tampa Bay area anglers

Michael Wilson
·6 min read
Andrew Bridges of Lakeland caught this juvenile tarpon on a live scaled sardine while fishing in Miguel Bay with Capt. John Gunter this week.
Andrew Bridges of Lakeland caught this juvenile tarpon on a live scaled sardine while fishing in Miguel Bay with Capt. John Gunter this week.

Fish of the Week

Tarpon: The tarpon bite has really turned on for Tampa Bay area anglers and locations elsewhere. All the usual seasonal spots are producing good numbers also.

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

1: At Big Pier 60 in Clearwater, the Spanish mackerel bite is steady and good numbers are coming over the rails every day. Speckled trout, sheepshead and black tip sharks have also been caught. Other notable catches include a cobia and a few pompano, reports Big Pier 60 Bait & Tackle (727-462-6466).

2: At Madeira Beach, Spanish mackerel are biting off the beach and on the nearshore reefs. There’s plenty of bait holding them in the area, but the kingfish have pretty much move on. Deeper offshore, there’s a good red grouper bite on the bottom. Mangrove snapper, some lanes, big Key West grunts and porgies are also biting, reports Larry Mastry at Mastry’s Tackle (727-896-8889).

3: At John's Pass, tarpon have been active in the pass at night around the bridge lights and early in the morning. Good numbers of snook are in the pass and they starting to move out towards beach. The trout bite is good around the docks at night. Trout are also biting on the deeper flats inside along with redfish around the mangrove lines. Redfish are also biting around the docks on the bottom in the pass. The mangrove snapper bite is picking up around structure and the bridge. Good numbers of Spanish mackerel, whiting and a few pompano are biting from the jetty, reports Andrew Schleissing at Gulf Coast Bait and Tackle (727-343-4181).

Homosassa residents Sandra Gutierrez, left, Miguel Gutierrez, center, and Roberto Tirado caught these 6 to 7-pound class Spanish mackerel on live scaled sardines while fishing in lower Tampa Bay with Capt. John Gunter on Tuesday.
Homosassa residents Sandra Gutierrez, left, Miguel Gutierrez, center, and Roberto Tirado caught these 6 to 7-pound class Spanish mackerel on live scaled sardines while fishing in lower Tampa Bay with Capt. John Gunter on Tuesday.

4: At Fort De Soto Park, a few snook are biting around the marina along with big sheepshead. Tarpon are being caught on threadfins around the new bridge, both day and night. Good numbers of tarpon are also rolling all around the Tierra Verde area. Grass flats around Jackass and Tarpon keys are producing redfish and trout up to 26 inches. The maintenance hole, the bomb holes and the campground area are also good for redfish and trout. There’s a decent snook bite along the mangrove lines. The Gulf Pier is producing Spanish mackerel up to 20 inches, along with mangrove snapper, sheepshead, whiting and blacktip sharks. The south side of Bunces Pass is producing flounder and whiting, reports Capt. Claude Hinson at Tierra Verde Bait and Tackle (727-864-2108).

5: Around the Sunshine Skyway and lower Tampa Bay, tarpon have showed up in good numbers around the bridges and they’re starting to stage up around the passes. The mangrove snapper bite has really picked up in lower Tampa Bay. Good numbers are biting around the Skyway Bridge, the bay reefs and along the shipping channel edges. Live scaled sardines are producing snapper up to 18 inches. Big Spanish mackerel are hanging around just inside of Egmont key in 8 to 10 feet of water. Good numbers of speckled trout are biting on the deeper grass flats outside of Terra Ceia Bay, reports Capt. John Gunter of Palmetto (863-838-5096).

6: At Anna Maria, Emerson Point and Terra Ceia has been holding some tarpon along with some good size speckled trout. The Seven Pines shoreline is holding snook and redfish on the high tides. Good size trout have been caught around the Bulkhead and the flats of the sound. Perico Bayou is holding a lot of snook and also some redfish. Palma Sola Bay is also producing snook, redfish and trout. The flats inside Longboat Pass are producing some good size trout. Mangove snapper are starting to move in around structure and the bridges, reports Capt. Shawn Crawford of Florida Sport Fishing Outfitters (941-705-3160).

Saltwater fishing map
Saltwater fishing map

7: At St. Petersburg, good numbers of tarpon are around the Skyway, Tierra Verde, Boca Ciega Bay, the reef off of Snell Isle, and up around the Gandy. Plenty of Spanish mackerel are biting off the beach and there’s a lot of bait. Mackerel are also on the nearshore reefs, around the Skyway and up in the bay. Trout action is good on the area flats around Tarpon Key, the Misner Bridge and Pinellas Point. Redfish are also biting at the point and around the clam bar area. Good numbers of snook are running Big Bayou, Bayboro, and around Snell Isle to Weedon Island. Mangrove snapper are biting good along the channel and on the bay reefs. Cobia have been caught on the deeper grass flats around the Gandy and Weedon, reports Mastry.

8: In the north end of Tampa Bay, good numbers of tarpon are up around the bridge at night around the lights. Juvenile tarpon are also up in the river with all the runoff. Mangrove snapper, pompano and black drum are biting around the bridge pilings. The upper bay from Rocky Point to Cypress Point is producing good action for snook redfish and trout on live baits, especially finger mullet. Good numbers of Spanish mackerel have moved up in the bay. Picnic Island is producing mangrove snapper and redfish. The St. Pete Pier is good for mangrove snapper and mackerel, reports Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551).

Joey Anderson of Ocala caught this 26-inch redfish on a live shrimp while fishing in Crystal River with Capt. Marrio Castello, of Tall Tales Charters on Tuesday.
Joey Anderson of Ocala caught this 26-inch redfish on a live shrimp while fishing in Crystal River with Capt. Marrio Castello, of Tall Tales Charters on Tuesday.

Elsewhere

• At Boca Grande, the tarpon bite is steady and there’s good numbers of fish, but the hot bite is constantly moving. One day the bite is hot on the beach, one day they’re in the pass, the next day it’s just inside the bay and day after, the bite could be hot down south towards Captiva Pass. There’s been pretty good snook action on the bay side of the pass. A decent number of slot size and over slot snook were caught Tuesday on free lined scaled sardines. Some trout up to 20 inches and Spanish mackerel, pushing 25 inches, are also biting on the deeper inside flats, reports Capt. Greg Penix of Lakeland (863-860-2502).

• At Fort Pierce, mahi up to 20 pounds are biting offshore on the troll at the 120-to-350-foot mark. Kingish are biting around a depth of 50 to 80 feet. Bottom anglers are getting mangrove and mutton snapper, along with a few cobia at 80 foot. At the inlet, whiting, croakers and a few pompano are biting in the surf. The snook bite is good in the inlet on live baits during the day and Hogies at night from the jetty and bridge catwalks inside. Some snook are also biting at the Juanita spillway. Mangrove snapper are biting at the south bridge and the Melody Lane Pier. Deeper water docks and mangrove lines are producing speckled 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: The tarpon bite has really turned on for Tampa Bay area anglers