1: At Big Pier 60 in Clearwater, the weather made fishing tough this past week. Whiting and bonnethead sharks were the most consistent catches. A couple of spotted seatrout were caught along with some Spanish mackerel, reports Big Pier 60 Bait & Tackle (727-462-6466).
2: At Madeira Beach, nearshore it’s all about the hogfish. The bite is very good at a depth of 40 to 70 feet. Lane and mangrove snapper are steady at the 60- to 70-foot mark. The red grouper bite is also good and there’s plenty grunts and porgies in the mix, reports Capt. Dylan Hubbard of Hubbard’s Marina (727-393-1947).
Sheepshead: Fishing for sheepshead remains excellent for Tampa Bay area anglers. The bite will only improve with the upcoming spawn.
Strike Zone, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Elsewhere
3: At John’s Pass, water in the pass has been muddy and pretty stirred up, but there’s plenty of sheepshead around. The redfish bite is pretty good on the bottom around the docks and a few flounder have been caught. Whiting and bonnethead sharks have been caught from the jetty, reports Hubbard.
4: At Fort De Soto Park, it’s been all about sheepshead this week. They’re all over the marina, the bridges and any structure around the park. The fish are good size, up to 21 inches. There’s a good redfish bite around the mangroves and the spotted trout are biting in the deeper troughs and holes on the flats. The piers are producing sheepshead and whiting, reports Joe Berlin at Tierra Verde Bait and Tackle (727-864-2108).
5: Around the Sunshine Skyway and lower Tampa Bay, sheepshead are in full spawn mode on all of the artificial reefs in the bay. Pompano and whiting have been good along the western edge of Egmont Key. Pompano jigs in yellow or pink color and tipped with a piece of shrimp have been getting the bite. Shrimp rigged with a small split shot is good for the whiting. A few permit are starting to show on some of the nearshore reefs and wrecks, reports Capt. John Gunter of Palmetto (863-838-5096). Fishing around the Skyway and the lower bay has been producing good numbers of sheepshead around inshore reefs. They’re also biting around the edges of the channel and passes over hard bottom. Deeper water docks are also producing sheepshead, along with redfish, black drum and some spotted trout, reports Capt. Shawn Crawford of Florida Sport Fishing Outfitters (941-705-3160).
6: At Anna Maria, sheepshead are biting around the docks in the sound, structure at Longboat Pass and all the area bridges. Good numbers of spotted trout are along the deeper edges of the channel in the sound and in deeper pockets on the flats during the high tides, reports Crawford.
7: At St. Petersburg, it’s mostly sheepshead right now. They’re biting around just about any structure, the bridges and the reefs in the bay. Mangrove snapper are also biting on the reefs, along the shipping channel and around the Misner Bridge this week. The redfish bite is good up around Weedon Island and inside the bayous on the Gandy west side. A lot of juvenile tarpon have been reported inside Riviera Bay, reports Larry Mastry at Mastry’s Tackle (727-896-8889).
8: In the north end of Tampa Bay, sheepshead are all over the place. The bridge and most rock piles are holding them. The reefs in the bay to the south are also producing good numbers. Mangrove snapper are biting in the deeper channels. Whiting and silver trout have been caught in the Weedon power plant channel. Black drum are biting around the bridges. There’s also been a lot of butterfish in the area for the old school panfish anglers, reports Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551).
♦ At Homosassa, this is the time to focus on the nearshore and offshore rocks for sheepshead. The cold water triggers the spawn and the fish will gather on the structure and feed aggressively. Fiddler or cracked blue crabs will work, but shrimp are the best bait, reports Capt. William Toney of Homosassa Inshore Fishing Charters (352-621-9284).

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