1. At Big Pier 60 in Clearwater, windy weather has slowed the fishing this week. A few mangrove snapper, sheepshead, along with small bonnethead and hammerhead sharks have been caught, reports Big Pier 60 Bait & Tackle (727-462-6466).
Cooler weather has moved more gag grouper closer to nearshore bay area waters and along the shipping channel.
Strike Zones: 2, 4, 5, 7, 8
2. At Madeira Beach, nearshore the hogfish bite is getting better starting around a depth of 40 feet. Spanish mackerel and kingfish are biting around the 40- to 50-foot mark and again out around 80 feet. Good size mangrove snapper and gag grouper are biting at depth starting around 50 feet, reports Capt. Dylan Hubbard of Hubbard’s Marina (727-393-1947).
3. At John’s Pass, there’s a really good redfish bite around the sandy areas of the pass this week. The flounder bite has also picked up. Pompano are biting along the beaches and a few have been caught from the jetty. Snook are still biting in the pass at night and early in the morning. Trout action is also good at night around the bridge and dock lights. Mangrove snapper are biting around structure, and the sheepshead numbers are increasing, reports Hubbard.
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4. At Fort De Soto Park, the marina area and the area bridges are holding plenty of mangrove snapper and sheepshead. The snook and redfish bite is good around the area docks, especially around Isla Del Sol. Redfish and speckled trout action is good on the flats around the park. East Beach has been “excellent” for trout. Gag grouper are biting around the bridges and along the Egmont Channel. Tripletail are still on the buoys off the beach, along with the markers and floating debris in the bay. The piers are producing Spanish mackerel, snapper, sheepshead and a few pompano, reports Joe Berlin at Tierra Verde Bait and Tackle (727-864-2108).
5. Around the Sunshine Skyway and lower Tampa Bay, the fishing leading up to this last cold front was great, but windy weather since has limited it. However, the gag grouper bite inside the bay remains good on live bait and while trolling. There are still some big schools of redfish inside of Terra Ceia Bay. The front brought some heavy winds all weekend and leading into this week. The “King of the Beach” fishing tourney was postponed a day because of the severe winds, but it was also bad on Sunday. The high winds caused entrants to fish inside of Tampa Bay and only 20 king mackerel were caught, reports Capt. John Gunter of Palmetto (863-838-5096).
6. At Anna Maria, snook are moving in from the beaches and are holding in the passes, along the north end of Anna Maria Island and around Longboat Key. Tripletail are holding on the markers and crab trap buoys. Trout are biting on the deeper edges of the flats in the sound. Spanish mackerel and some bluefish are also biting around areas holding bait in the sound. Redfish action has also been good and these fish are hanging around flats adjacent to deeper water, reports Capt. Shawn Crawford of Florida Sport Fishing Outfitters (941-705-3160).
7. At St. Petersburg, the shipping channel, rock piles and reefs in the bay have been producing keeper gag grouper and mangrove snapper. Some sporadic kingfish have been caught in the shipping channel inside the Skyway up to Port Mantatee. The kings are more numerous from the Skyway out to Egmont, but the numbers are still down this season. Schools of Spanish mackerel are in the bay and also around the Clam Bar area. The snook and redfish bite is better north of Pinellas Point up to Weedon Island and also around the islands of Fort De Soto. More sheepshead are showing up around structure and the docks. Pompano are biting around the area bridges and the passes, reports Larry Mastry at Mastry’s Tackle (727-896-8889).
8. In the north end of Tampa Bay, mangrove snapper and sheepshead action is good around the bridges, structure and some of the docks. Some black drum have also been caught around the bridges. Pompano are biting around the pilings and the deeper sandy cuts and channels. Gag grouper are biting in the deeper channels, around some of the bridges and the reefs in the bay to the south. The markers and buoys are holding cobia and some tripletail. Redfish are biting along the bridge approaches. Spanish mackerel have moved into the bay as high as the Gandy and they’re also biting around the Picnic Island and St. Pete piers. The redfish, snook and trout bite is good at Weedon Island, the Fourth Street flats and the upper bay, reports Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551).
• At Fort Pierce, offshore there’s been some mahi at the 80 to 200-foot mark, but nothing over 15 pounds. A few kingfish are holding at a depth of 80 feet. Lane and vermillion snapper are biting on the bottom along with a few muttons and mangroves. At the inlet, the surf has been rough, but still producing some whiting, croakers and pompano. A few black drum and Spanish mackerel have been caught in the inlet from the jetty. Inside around the bridges, sheepshead and black drum are biting. Some sand perch have been caught at the catwalk and also at the Melody Lane Pier, reports Clint Walker at the Fishing Center of St. Lucie (772-465-7637).

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