1: At Big Pier 60 in Clearwater, sheepshead, whiting and silver trout have been steady catches this week. A few Spanish mackerel and speckled trout have also been caught, reports Big Pier 60 Bait & Tackle (727-462-6466).
2: At Madeira Beach, the nearshore hogfish bite is excellent at a depth of 40 to 70 feet. There’s also a steady bite for porgies, grunts, good size mangrove snapper and gag grouper, reports Capt. Dylan Hubbard of Hubbard’s Marina (727-393-1947).
Sheepshead: The winter season sheepshead bite is in full swing around Tampa Bay and elsewhere. Structure, bridges and docks are all producing a good bite.
Strike Zone, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Elsewhere
3: At John’s Pass, there’s plenty of sheepshead around structure in the pass and a few snook during the day along the seawalls. The snook are “finicky,” but will take freelined shrimp and pinfish on very light tackle. Good numbers of flounder are in the pass and pompano are biting in the surf and from the jetty, reports Hubbard.
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4: At Fort De Soto Park, plenty of sheepshead are around the marina, the bridges and the area seawalls. A few flounder and black seabass have also been caught. Small schools of sheepshead are also around structure on the area flats. Good numbers of redfish have been caught on the flats, along with a few speckled trout. The flats around the campground are also producing redfish and flounder. Pompano are biting Doc’s Jigs and shrimp at the Bay Pier. The Gulf Pier is producing sheepshead around the pilings, along with whiting, bluefish and big jack crevalle. Bunces Pass is producing pompano and whiting, reports Capt. Claude Hinson at Tierra Verde Bait and Tackle (727-864-2108).
5: Around the Sunshine Skyway and lower Tampa Bay, sheepshead have shown up in big numbers around the bridges and structure. That fishing will only get better in the coming weeks. Snook have been very active around the mouth of the Manatee River and along the docks in the river. A few straggler redfish can be caught in those same areas, reports Capt. John Gunter of Palmetto (863-838-5096). Gag grouper are still biting along the shipping channel and on the reefs in the bay. Sheepshead are also biting on the reefs, around the bridges and most structure. Trout are biting at the mouth and just inside Miguel Bay over hard bottom in 4 to 8 feet of water. There’s also a good trout bite in Terra Ceia Bay and around the mouth of the river, reports Capt. Shawn Crawford of Florida Sport Fishing Outfitters (941-705-3160).
6: At Anna Maria, deeper grass flats of the sound are holding good size speckled trout along with Spanish mackerel. The nearshore reefs from Egmont Key south to Longboat Key, at about 1 to 3 miles out, are holding good size grunts along with the occasional mangrove snapper, reports Crawford. Tripletail fishing remains good off of Anna Maria on the crab trap buoys in about 30 feet of water. Sheepshead fishing is good around the bridges and structure, reports Gunter.
7: At St. Petersburg, lots of snook have moved into the creeks and residential canals. Sheepshead are plentiful around structure, the bridges and docks in the canals. Redfish action is good around Weedon Island and also around the oysters bars and residential docks around Pinellas Point and Fort De Soto. Gag grouper and mangrove snapper are still biting on the reefs in the bay and along the shipping channel, reports Larry Mastry at Mastry’s Tackle (727-896-8889). The jetty at Pass a Grille is producing black drum, reports Hinson.
8: In the north end of Tampa Bay, sheepshead are biting around just about any structure and the bridges. The seawalls and structure around Davis Islands are also really good for the sheepshead. Black seabass and whiting are biting in the channel around the power plant. Good numbers of redfish are biting around Weedon Island and the Fourth Street flats north to the causeway. Speckled trout action has picked up on the deeper flats around the Gandy and off Ballast Point. Black drum are biting around all the bridges. Pompano are biting in the sandy areas on the St. Pete side of the bridge. The snook bite is good down by Bayshore and they’re pushing into the river, reports Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551).
• At Fort Pierce, wahoo up to 50 pounds and the occasional mahi are biting offshore on the troll at the 160- to 200-foot mark. There’s also a strong kingfish bite at 50 to 80 feet. Bottom fishing for mangrove snapper is very good at depth of 80 feet. A few lanes and muttons are also in the mix. At the inlet, pompano and whiting have been caught in the surf. Spanish mackerel and bluefish are biting from the jetty.
•Sheepshead are biting around the docks and the bridges. More black drum are showing each day around inlet. A few snook have been caught on live bait, but that bite is slow, reports Clint Walker at the Fishing Center of St. Lucie (772-465-7637).

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