Dirty water in lower Tampa Bay has made fishing difficult. Slow-moving tides have helped keep the dirt in the bay. Clean water can be found near mangrove islands and flats with large areas of thick grass. We drove around until we found water with good color, then drifted the area until we ran into dirty water. If a few fish were caught on the first drift, we would drift through the spot again. Most of the action came from trout and redfish. Dark green, slug-style jigs brought the most hookups.
Snook fishing at night has been good. Scaled sardines, grunts, whitebait and shrimp are bringing the most strikes. Last week's cold front pushed most of the fish away from the passes. Look for the fish to return as the water temperature rises. Sardines free-lined around structures produced the larger snook. The best bet was a small whitebait free-lined around the lights, especially when the fish were feeding near the surface. If they were hanging around in deeper water, we would get more strikes on shrimp. Grunts work best under bridges, and the best fishing was at the beginning and end of the tide movement.
The grouper bite southwest of John's Pass is good. Fish in 40 to 50 feet and work your way out. Blue runners are bringing in the bigger fish.
Small kings can be found over reefs that are holding bait. Use the bait schooling in the area to catch kings. Most of the larger kings are either close to shore or far offshore, where the water is cooler.
- Doug Hemmer charters out of St. Petersburg. Call (727) 347-1389.