In Tampa Bay, the snook are still around the passes but getting fewer and further between while most have moved further up into the bays hiding around the mouth of the bayous, rivers, and under residential docks. They are trying to stay in the warmer areas and regulate their body temps as best they can while the local waters cool down! The snook bite has been really good around the flats and mangrove shore lines in the back bay waters especially in the mid to late afternoon once the morning sun has had a chance to warm things up a bit.
Trout action going very well around the area on the flats and edges of the flats once things warm up a bit later morning to the early night time period. They can be found in good numbers at night around the residential dock lights or bridge lights of the area too. They get super frisky and in good numbers this time of year with the cooler local waters.
Redfish like the snook are further up in the bays right now doing the same thing, just trying to stay warm and they are definitely biting best once the waters warm up in the mid to late afternoon. Work the mangrove shorelines and the flats and residential docks for the best redfish action this time of year. They seem to be biting a little slower this week compared to the snook and trout.
Sheepshead and blackdrum are biting well around our local bridges, docks, piers and jetties hitting shrimp, cut crabs, fiddler crabs or cut oysters around the structures. It’s a great time of year to hit the structures of the area for these good eating and unique looking fish. They are bonier fish and hard to fillet but worth the extra work. In my opinion, sheepshead are the much better eating fish but often people will eat the smaller black drum too. The larger drum in the 10+lb range I wouldn’t recommend eating as they can often be pretty worm filled after they get larger sized.
Spanish mackerel and bluefish are pretty thick around the area right now we are seeing them around the piers, passes and mouth of the bay hitting greenbacks or live shrimp or the fast moving flashy artificial baits. These guys both have very sharp teeth and are known for cutting leaders with ease. Heavier floro leader like 20-30lb or some light 30lb wire is a good idea when targeting these guys specifically. The Spanish mackerel are definitely more prolific in our area than the bluefish but this past week we have seen lots of bluefish caught as well around the same areas you would find the mackerel!
Triple tail have been thick around the beaches, bays and intercostal hiding under the crab trap buoys or around the floating debris. Even off the beach a few miles you can find these guys under almost any floating structure. However, they can be a little finicky from time to time. It’s a numbers game targeting triple tail. You want to keep moving from buoy to buoy or marker to marker or debris to debris and you will eventually spot one or a few and find one ready to eat. You really have to work for them some days while other days they are fired up ready to eat whatever you throw. They love the free lined live shrimp the most it seems, but presenting that bait to them in a natural way accurately can be a challenge sometimes. If you need, you can add a popping cork to give you some more casting distance and weight for accuracy but you want overcast them as to ensure you don’t spook the fish.
