Lower Tampa Bay is starting to see great fishing action. Tarpon, snook, redfish, mackerel and trout are available within a small area. Tarpon are rolling in the morning near the Sunshine Skyway bridge, outside the grass flats that line the inside of the bridge and along the beach from Anna Maria to Fort De Soto. Most of our hookups have been on a free-lined sardine.
Most snook are inside the beach area. Mangrove islands and docks hold large fish. This is the best month to play catch and release with a monster. Most snook have been hooked on white bait. Redfish are running near the mullet schools during higher tides. They will be spooky and hard to catch during lower tides. Whitebait and small pinfish have been the bait of choice.
Mackerel are feeding hard around the Skyway. Free-line a white bait on a long shank hook and wait for the rod to start singing before setting the hook. Trout are easiest to target, with most 1-2 pounds. Drift different areas until you locate larger fish. Motor oil and strawberry slug-style jigs worked close to the grass will draw strikes during the tidal movement. Make your drifts over the edge of the flats. If trout are small, move farther onto the flats. At low tide, work grass close to a sandbar. Larger trout hang near a shallow area to escape from porpoises.
- Doug Hemmer charters out of St. Petersburg. Call (727) 347-1389.
