Tarpon: It’s that time of year and the tarpon bite has really kicked into full swing around the Tampa Bay area and locations elsewhere.
Strike Zone, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Elsewhere
1: At Big Pier 60 in Clearwater, good numbers of both Spanish mackerel and speckled trout have been each day this week. A few sheepshead and pompano have also been caught. Regular local anglers are also targeting snook, reports Big Pier 60 Bait & Tackle (727-462-6466).
2: At Madeira Beach, good numbers of Spanish mackerel are off the beaches and on the nearshore reefs out to about 40 foot. Starting around a depth of 60 feet, bottom fishing is producing plenty of lane and mangrove snapper, grunts, porgies, and big red grouper. Deeper offshore, the pelagic bite is excellent. Two sailfish and a 100-pound wahoo were caught on a recent trip, reports Capt. Dylan Hubbard of Hubbard’s Marina (727-393-1947).
3: At John’s Pass, snook have been real active around the docks, especially in the morning. A few tarpon are in the pass early in the mornings. Some redfish are around the docks on the bottom. More mangrove snapper are moving in and a few sheepshead are still around. Out at the jetty and the nearby beaches, a lot of speckled trout have been caught. Pompano are also biting on shrimp and Doc’s Jigs. Spanish mackerel and whiting are also plentiful, reports Hubbard.
4: At Fort De Soto Park, the tarpon bite under the bridge is “sick” and there’s plenty of boats chasing them. Capt. Tyler Kapela and a client caught one estimated by length and girth measurement to weigh between 228 to 248 pounds on a pass crab Sunday evening. There’s also a lot of sharks around because of the tarpon. Snook and mangrove snapper are around the marina. Big sheepshead are still around the docks. A few flounder have been caught along the seawall. The area grass flats are producing redfish and a few trout. Big schools of jack crevalle are roaming around Jackass Key. The boat ramp area is producing snook and sheepshead. The Gulf Pier is producing Spanish mackerel, mangrove snapper, sheepshead, whiting, and small sharks. Bunces Pass is producing a few snook, whiting and jacks along with sharpnose and blacktip sharks, reports Capt. Claude Hinson at Tierra Verde Bait and Tackle (727-864-2108).
5: Around the Sunshine Skyway and lower Tampa Bay, big spawner size snook are on the beaches and around the passes. Fish the swash channel with live scaled sardines. Mangrove snapper fishing has been “exceptional” all throughout the lower part of Tampa Bay. The Skyway area, the fishing channel and the bay reefs, especially the Port Manatee Reef are producing good a good snapper bite, reports Capt. John Gunter of Palmetto (863-838-5096). Tarpon are gorging themselves at night around the Skyway Bridge. The speckled trout bite is excellent. Limits are being caught over deep grass in 4 to 8 feet of water, especially on ledges or some type of disturbed bottom. This is true from the Skyway all the way down to Sarasota Bay, reports Capt. Shawn Crawford of Florida Sport Fishing Outfitters (941-705-3160).
6: At Anna Maria, a huge push of tarpon moved in off the beach and into the pass at Bean Point this week. The beach fish out front, have been biting best on pass crabs fished under a float. Chumming and chunking with threadfin herring seems to be working best for the tarpon inside the pass, reports Gunter. Anna Maria Sound is producing plenty of trout and deep grass around ledges and drop-offs is producing the best bite. Palma Sola Bay is still producing a good bite for snook, redfish and trout. The flats inside Longboat Pass are also producing trout. Snook are in Longboat Pass and starting to move out onto the nearby beaches. Mangrove snapper are also holding on structure around the pass and also at the area bridges, reports Capt. Shawn Crawford of Florida Sport Fishing Outfitters (941-705-3160).
7: At St. Petersburg, the tarpon bite is really good and all the bridges are holding fish on the outgoing tides. The area between the Skyway and Egmont Key is especially holding good numbers of tarpon. Most anglers are live baiting with crabs and threadfins. The snook bite has been good around Bunces Pass and edges of the nearby beach. Pinellas Point is holding redfish and decent numbers of snook. Weedon Island is algo good for snook and redfish. The mangrove snapper bite is good at Port Manatee Reef, the other bay reefs, along the channel and at the Skyway. The St. Pete Reef off Snell Isle is also holding good numbers of snapper and also some tarpon. Spanish mackerel are on the beaches, around the Skyway and a few are inside the bay, reports Larry Mastry at Mastry’s Tackle (727-896-8889).
8: In the north end of Tampa Bay, there’s good numbers of Spanish mackerel, mangrove snapper and some pompano biting around the Gandy Bridge. The upper bay has a good a redfish bite around Rocky Creek. The Fourth Street flats and Cypress Point are producing mainly redfish and snook. Both Weedon and Picnic islands are holding a lot of bait and both areas are producing snook, redfish and speckled trout. Tripletail and cobia are starting to show on the markers and buoys in the bay. Davis Islands is producing good numbers of mangrove snapper. Tarpon are at the Gandy Bridge lights at night, reports Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551).
• At Boca Grande, the tarpon bite is “on fire” in the pass and the fish are just starting to move out onto the nearby beaches. The hill tides are good coming off this past full moon and the tarpon are busting on the crabs. “Wednesday night at sunset, we had two tarpon and could have had more. Other anglers were also hooking up and the bite was on fire. It’s as good as I’ve seen in years. We ran a double charter and also caught four fish on the beach early Wednesday morning,” reports Capt. Greg Penix of Lakeland (863-860-2502).
• At Fort Pierce, offshore there’s still the best mahi bite in years. Most boats are finding the fish at the 100 to 250-foot mark. Trolling ballyhoo or drifting live baits is producing plenty of fish in the 15 to 20-pound class, but a few up to 30 pounds are also in the mix. The bottom bite at 80 foot is producing good mangrove and mutton snapper, triggerfish and the occasional cobia. At the inlet, whiting and a few pompano are biting in the surf. Some mangrove snapper are biting from the jetty and inside at the bridges. Snook are biting inside the inlet at night on Hogies, reports Clint Walker at the Fishing Center of St. Lucie (772-465-7637).
Compiled By Michael Wilson / Ledger Correspondent

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