1. At Big Pier 60 in Clearwater, regular anglers are catching sheepshead around the pilings on shrimp and crabs. Speckled trout, silver trout and whiting have been steady most days. Pier hours are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week, until further notice, reports Big Pier 60 Bait & Tackle (727-462-6466).
2. At Madeira Beach, “nearshore it’s hogfish, hogfish and more hogfish. The bite is on fire around a depth of 30 to 70 feet. We’ve caught close to 200 fish on all our trips this week,” reports Capt. Dylan Hubbard of Hubbard’s Marina (727-393-1947). Red grouper, mangrove snapper, lanes, porgies and grunts are best starting around the 60-foot mark. Deeper offshore, big red grouper, scamp grouper and the occasional blackfin tuna are biting, reports Hubbard.
3. At John’s Pass, both speckled and silver trout are steady in the pass and the bite is best at night. Some snook are biting in the pass, and a snook pushing 40 inches was caught on a shrimp under the docks this week. Numerous redfish have been caught on the bottom around the docks. Sheepshead are thick around structure, the bridge and the docks. Whiting and black drum up to 24-inches have been caught on the beach, reports Hubbard.
4. At Fort De Soto Park, sheepshead and a few mangrove snapper are biting around the bridge. Doc’s Jigs are producing pompano from the bridge, the Gulf Pier and around Bunces Pass. Speckled trout action is good on the deeper grass flats, and redfish are biting in the deep pockets and mud holes on the low tides. Black sea bass have been caught around the bridge and the deeper channels. Tripletail are biting on the crab traps along the beaches, reports Capt. Claude Hinson of Tierra Verde Bait and Tackle (727-864-2108).
5. Around the Sunshine Skyway and lower Tampa Bay, live shrimp are producing black drum, sheepshead, redfish and snook on the docks at high tides inside Terra Ceia Bay and especially around Palmetto Point, reports Capt. John Gunter of Palmetto (863-838-5096). Sheepshead action is solid around the Skyway, the reefs in the bay and most structure in the area. Speckled trout have been active on the deeper flats of Terra Ceia and Miguel bays, reports Capt. Shawn Crawford of Florida Sport Fishing Outfitters. (941-705-3160).
6. At Anna Maria, speckled trout are scattered around the flats of Key Royale and soft plastics with a jig have been the most productive. Sheepshead fishing has been good on the docks from Longboat Pass to the north in the sound and to the south around New Pass, reports Crawford. The nearshore fishing off Anna Maria has been really good when the wind permits. Hogfish are starting to group up on the ledges and hard bottom around 40 to 60 feet. Hogball Jigs tipped with shrimp have been very productive, reports Gunter.
7. At St. Petersburg, the residential canals from Weedon Island through Snell Isle south to Pinellas Point are producing good catches of speckled trout, redfish and a few snook. Big Bayou has been especially good for trout up to 20 inches. The new pier is producing sheepshead around the rocks and structure. Reefs in the bay are also producing sheepshead and a few mangrove snapper. Demens Landing has been a good spot for mangrove snapper this week, reports Larry Mastry at Mastry’s Tackle (727-896-8889).
8. In the north end of Tampa Bay, speckled trout are biting in the deeper holes early, then on the open flats during midday. Snook are biting in the canals. Juvenile tarpon and some snook are up in the Hillsborough River. Redfish are biting at low tide in the deep pockets by Picnic Island and on the Legion flats. Reds are active between Rocky Point and Double Branch in the upper bay. Sheepshead are thick around structure and the bridge. Whiting and some black sea bass have been caught in the deeper cuts and channels. Black drum are biting on shrimp and jigs tipped with shrimp around the bridges, reports Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551).
• At Homosassa, speckled trout can be found on the spoil banks in Crystal River while sunning on the rocky points on the high tides and on the rocks nearshore in water around 10 feet deep. Glow color D.O.A. CAL Shad Tails have been producing the best. Sheepshead are also biting on the nearshore rocks. Inside the rivers, black drum, sheepshead, redfish, mangrove snapper and trout are biting, reports Capt. William Toney of Homosassa Inshore Fishing Charters (352-621-9284).
• At Fort Pierce, offshore there’s a good mahi bite and a few sailfish while trolling ballyhoo at the 120- to 250-foot mark. On the bottom, mangrove snapper up to 8 pounds, along with lanes and muttons are biting at 80 feet. At the inlet, whiting, bluefish, croakers and a few pompano are biting in the surf. Bluefish are also inside the inlet. Big catch-and-release snook are biting live bait inside the turning basin. The bridges are producing a lot of sheepshead and some black drum. Speckled trout are biting around the islands in the river and redfish are biting on the docks and along the deeper mangrove lines, reports Clint Walker at the Fishing Center of St. Lucie (772-465-7637).

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