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It's winter so that means sheepshead bite is strong in Tampa Bay – The Ledger

1: At Big Pier 60 in Clearwater, the cold front has slowed the fishing, but sheepshead, whiting, silver trout and croakers have been caught this week, reports Big Pier 60 Bait & Tackle (727-462-6466).
2: At Madeira Beach, the hogfish bite is still very good in nearshore waters 30 to 70 feet deep. Lane snapper start chewing good around the 60-foot mark. There’s also plenty of grunts and porgies. Deeper water, around 70 feet deep, is where the red grouper bite picks up. Further offshore, there’s scamp grouper, big mangrove snapper and vermilions. For pelagic anglers, there’s plenty of blackfin tuna, a few kingfish and the occasional wahoo, reports Capt. Dylan Hubbard of Hubbard’s Marina (727-393-1947).
Sheepshead: The seasonal, winter time sheepshead bite is in full swing right now for Tampa Bay area anglers and other spots elsewhere.
Strike Zone, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Elsewhere
3: At John’s Pass, sheepshead are plentiful in the pass, around structure and the bridge. There’s a good redfish bite on live shrimp around the docks and a few snook are still around. Whiting and silver trout are biting from the jetty. When the water is clear, pompano are also biting shrimp and Doc’s Jigs, reports Hubbard
4: At Fort De Soto Park, there’s plenty of sheepshead along with some black sea bass around the marina area and the seawall. The sea bass are taking white color Gulp plastics on a pink jig head. Schools of sheepshead are roaming the flats and big sheepshead have been caught in the Soldier’s Hole, along with redfish and snook. Good numbers of redfish and some snook are also on the flats around Tarpon and Jackass Key. The trout bite is picking up on the flats around the park. The piers are good for pompano, sheepshead and whiting. Bunces Pass is producing lots of whiting, jacks and some pompano, reports Capt. Claude Hinson at Tierra Verde Bait and Tackle (727-864-2108). The Arrowhead area inside Bunces Pass is producing a good speckled trout bite, reports Larry Mastry at Mastry’s Tackle (727-896-8889).
5: Around the Sunshine Skyway and lower Tampa Bay, sheepshead action is heating up all over lower Tampa Bay. Look for them around any structure such as bridge pilings, docks, rock piles and the artificial reefs. Small pieces of shrimp, fiddler crabs and oysters will all get the bite. The snook bite is still really good. Terra Ceia and the flats adjacent to the mouth of the Manatee River are all holding some good size fish, reports Capt. John Gunter of Palmetto (863-838-5096). Sheepshead continue to bunch up around the reefs in the bay, the bridges and most structure in the area. The inshore bite for snook, redfish and trout has been very good. The flats from the mouth of the Manatee River to Bishop’s Harbor are producing an “excellent bite,” reports Capt. Shawn Crawford of Florida Sport Fishing Outfitters (941-705-3160).
6: At Anna Maria, the bridges, structure around Longboat Pass and some of the docks in the sound are holding sheepshead. Deeper grass in the sound, at the mouth of Palma Sola Bay and around Rocky Point on the west side, have all been holding trout, redfish and snook, reports Crawford. Nearshore off Anna Maria, the hogfish bite has really picked up. Ledges in water 45 to 60 feet deep have been productive with live shrimp rigged on a 1 oz. Hogball style jig. Grunts and porgies are also in the mix, reports Gunter.
7: At St. Petersburg, it’s mostly sheepshead this week. They’ve moved in good and are on just about any structure. Rock piles, oyster bars, the bridges and the edges of the shipping channel are all producing good numbers. Some mangrove snapper are still in the same areas. Snook are holding in the residential canals and creeks. Redfish action is good around Weedon Island and the docks south along the shore. The trout bite has been spotty, but Pinellas Point and Big Bayou are producing the best bite, reports Mastry.
8: In the north end of Tampa Bay, sheepshead are on most structure in the area and around all the bridges. Speckled trout are biting on the shallower flats, especially around Fourth Street and Big Island. Whiting are biting along the deeper channels and around structure. Redfish action is good on the west shore from Weedon Island into the upper bay. Some cobia have been caught in the warm water outflows at the power plants. A few snook are holding in the canals and the mouths of the creeks. Black drum and some snook have also been caught in the river around the Platt Street Bridge, reports Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551).
At Crystal River, the sheepshead bite is “firing up” on live shrimp around the outside islands. Despite the cold front, the redfish bite is really good on freelined, live shrimp. The bite is best along the mangrove edges on the middle to high end of an incoming tide. Speckled trout are biting in the deeper holes and troughs just outside the backcountry. A D.O.A. CAL 5.5-inch jerkbait on a jig head will get the bite, reports Capt. Marrio Castello of Tall Tales Charters (352-454-7719).
At Fort Pierce, offshore weather has been rough, but anglers who can get out are catching a few sailfish, mahi and wahoo on the troll. At the inlet, whiting and some pompano are biting in the surf. The jetty is producing Spanish mackerel, sheepshead, black drum, mangrove snapper and a few flounder. Inside the inlet, there’s an excellent bite for catch and release snook on live bait. The bridges are producing sheepshead and snapper and sand perch are biting at the Melody Lane Pier, reports Clint Walker at the Fishing Center of St. Lucie (772-465-7637).

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