Guide bites
Capt. George Hastick (727-525-1005): Capt. George says catching Spanish mackerel is easy work, with schools spread out from the Skyway to the Gandy Bridge. They’ve been running between 16 and 22 inches, taking live sardines and spoons well. Trout fishing has been reliable, with keeper-sized fish in residential canals from Pinellas Point to the Gandy Bridge area, as well as on grass flats on both sides of the bay in that region along drop-offs from grass beds into 4 to 5 feet of water. Live sardines have been his bait of choice, though soft-plastic Sea Shad tails on jigs also work. Snook have been on the mangroves at high tide on both sides of the bay up to the Gandy, with moving water the key to taking them. Live sardines have been producing a lot of smaller males to 25 inches, though a 31-inch fish was taken on a recent charter and a couple of fish estimated at 20 pounds were hooked and lost over the past week. Redfish have been in some of the same spots close to the growth, but also out away from them on the open flats. Mangrove snapper are running a little larger now, with keepers on deeper rock piles, around dock and bridge pilings. Small, live sardines are a good bait. Tarpon are around in good numbers. He hasn’t been fishing for them, but anyone who wants one should fish a live bait along the light line under the Gandy Bridge at night.
Capt. Chuck Rogers (813-918-8356): Capt. Chuck reports the Spanish mackerel bite in the bay doesn’t get much better. Fishing anywhere near the Gandy and Howard Frankland bridges is hot, with feeding schools of big fish taking live sardines. He likes a mono leader with a long-shank light wire hook, as it produces more strikes than wire leader. Snook are running along the mangrove lines between the bridges. It’s a high-water situation, and casting a live sardine close to the growth is taking them. Reds are there, as well, though they seem to have gotten a bit scarce over the past week or so. Live sardines take them, as well. The sardine schools moved off the shallow flats to deeper water with cool nights last week, but by this week they may return. Trout have been in very shallow water, with slot- and oversized fish found in as little as 12 to 20 inches of water. Lots of sharks are in the bay, with plenty around the Gandy and Howard Frankland. Put out a chunk of dead bait up-current of the bridges to take them. Tarpon are in the bay, and while netting bait early in the day under the Gandy, Capt. Chuck has been seeing them rolling.
Tackle shop roundup
Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551): Zack says customers have been reporting more and larger mangrove snapper. The better catches have come from the bridge pilings under the Gandy and Howard Frankland bridges, though rocky ship channels also produce. Live shrimp is tops. A few pompanos have been showing up in catches at the bridges, as well as shell bars near them. Lots of schooling mackerel are in the bay, with catches as far up as the Howard Frankland and beyond. Snook are on the outside mangroves, hard-bottom points and around creek mouths. Redfish action slowed over the past week and anglers have been working harder to connect with a fish or two. Trout fishing has been pretty good, with several reports of nice catches made at Picnic Island. Live shrimp under a float or jigs with soft-plastic tails take them. More and More tarpon are being seen and hooked. Pods of fish have been common around the bootleg just south of Picnic Island and they also are feeding under the Gandy Bridge at night, where a few hookups have been reported. Lots of sharks are around, as well…