Outdoors

Daily fishing report

By JAY MASTRY
Published August 21, 2005

Despite Red Tide, many areas in Tampa Bay offer a variety of opportunities. Mackerel are crashing schools of fry baits from north of the St. Petersburg municipal pier to the Gandy Bridge. Use light spinning gear rigged with small diamond jigs or spoons.

Pompano fishing that tapered off during two-tide days likely will pick up. Friday's full moon produced stronger-than-normal tides, and pompano gather at the Gandy and Howard Frankland bridges. Yellow or pink jigs work best. Add a small feathered streamer. Removing barnacles from bridge pilings with a long-handled scraper will fire up a bite that has slowed.

Mangrove snapper are at many reefs and other structures up the bay, including the bridges. Shrimp, seemingly unaffected by Red Tide, work well. Small whitebait, greenbacks and juvenile Spanish sardines can be cast-netted at the Sunshine Skyway bridge or along the flats from Venetian Isles to Weedon Island. Use quarter-inch mesh to prevent filling the net with baits snagged in the gills. Schools of full-grown whitebait can be seen on the surface between the Gandy and Howard Frankland. A 1-inch mesh net sinks faster and won't gill these larger baits.

Tarpon are in the upper bay. Silver kings have been around the Bayside Bridge, and a large bunch settled into the Gandy reef off Snell Isle. With shad difficult to find, try ladyfish or mullet.

Jay Mastry charters Jaybird out of St. Petersburg. Call (727) 321-2142.

[Last modified August 21, 2005, 00:51:14]