Most of the gamefish that frequent our waters will be available the next month or so. Tarpon, redfish. snook, mackerel, grouper, cobia and trout are inside the bay's deeper waters and on the flats. Grouper, cobia, kingfish and mackerel gather on the reefs, wrecks and hard bottoms that line the offshore areas.
Most of the inshore action has been tarpon, snook, reds and trout. Tarpon are near the Sunshine Skyway bridge and along the shipping channel, while snook move closer to the beaches. Good numbers of big snook hang around areas closest to a pass. Redfish and trout have moved over the grass flats near the mangrove islands. The reds feed on whitebait and pinfish.
The best way to approach them is with a push pole. Idling engines and trolling motors will spook the schools. The redfish need to be milling if you want them to feed. The bigger trout take whitebait under a cork. The best areas to target are potholes surrounded by thick grass. The grouper and cobia gather along the ship channel. The grouper are in the 26- to 32-foot range that lines the edge of the channel. Look for the cobia in the shadow of the channel markers. Live pinfish attracts both fish.
Offshore action is as good as it gets. Kingfish finally have appeared in numbers. Before this week's high winds, reports of good action came from most of the artificial reefs and hard bottoms that line the 30- to 40-foot depths. The best bet this weekend is to head for the 30-foot areas. If the water is dirty, move offshore until the water clears. Most of the baits the kings feed on (threadfins, Spanish sardines and cigar minnows) can be caught offshore using gold-hooked bait rigs. Grouper are spread across all depth ranges, so start shallow, then move out.
The Redington long pier reports kingfish, snook and hugh trout. Twenty-four inch trout are breeders full of roe and should be released to spawn. Catch kings off the end of the pier. This takes a special technique known by a few pier regulars. The best action at the Skyway piers is mackerel and grouper.
Make sure you have a heavy rod and a few pinfish when fishing inshore, and you might find a school of tarpon or a lone cobia. When grouper fishing offshore, put out a flat line for a possible kingfish or cobia.
