Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 78F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..
Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low near 70F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Updated: March 17, 2024 @ 11:58 am
Capt. Chuck Rogers reports seeing more redfish on the outside bay flats and some, like this jumbo fish displayed by one of his anglers, have been oversized. The reds are taking live sardines or shrimp. All the fish he’s encountered have been singles or pairs, with only the occasional small pod.

Capt. Chuck Rogers reports seeing more redfish on the outside bay flats and some, like this jumbo fish displayed by one of his anglers, have been oversized. The reds are taking live sardines or shrimp. All the fish he’s encountered have been singles or pairs, with only the occasional small pod.
Capt. Chuck Rogers (813-918-8356): Capt. Chuck reports bay water temperatures of around 74 degrees, which has the fish active and feeding. Schools of scaled sardines have moved up onto a lot of shallow flats and they have been an effective bait for snook, reds and trout. More and more snook have been coming out of the backwaters, creeks and canals to patrol the bay mangrove lines. Most of them have been smaller males, which are in a feeding mood. The bigger fish he’s seen have not been too interested in taking baits. Reds are moving around the same mangroves when the water is up, though they are running in singles and doubles with no signs of schooling behavior. Some of the reds he’s encountered have been oversized. Trout are on the grass beds in 4 to 6 feet of water, as well as around shell bars. Over the past week, he’s done best working the Pinellas side of the bay from Pinellas Point north. Mangrove snapper can be found over rocks and in deeper channels, as well as structure like docks, bridges and seawalls.
Capt. George Hastick (727-525-1005): Capt. George says the action in the bay keeps getting better as water temperatures climb into the magic 70s. He’s netting live sardines for snook and reds, though he keeps shrimp on board for the reds, which some days prefer it. Most of the snook he’s finding have been on the outside mangroves on the bay. They have been close to the roots when the water is high, falling out onto the deeper flats as the water drops. The reds have been hugging the growth as well. He’s seeing no more than a couple or three reds together when he finds them. Trout are in open-water areas around shell bars and on grass bottom with plenty of deeper sand holes in 5 to 7 feet of water. They’ve been taking live sardines, shrimp and jigs with Saltwater Assassin soft-plastic tails. Schools of sheepshead to about 18 inches have been around docks and bridge pilings. Live shrimp works but fiddler crabs are better. Schools of threadfin shad have moved into the bay in open water, where some Spanish mackerel schools have been feeding on them. The Skyway Bridge area has had the greatest concentration of mackerel. Over the past week, Capt. George’s anglers have been boating some eating-size porgies in deeper water, including at the St. Pete artificial reef.
Riviera Bait & Tackle (727-954-6365): Billy says his customers have been doing well on sheepshead around bridges, docks and rocks, taking some nice fish on shrimp. Trout fishing has been good, with some large fish being caught along the drop-offs on grass flats in 4 to 6 feet of water. Live shrimp and jigs with soft plastics are working on fish to oversized. Snook have really perked up with the warming conditions. Capt. Anthony Corcella of Pocket Change Charters put his anglers on 38 fish caught and released on one recent trip. Redfish are cruising the bars and mangroves and while there were no huge catches reported over the last week, a few anglers managed a fish or two on their trips. The location was kept secret, but there was a reliable report of some big permit being taken on pass crabs. The fish typically school around structure offshore, so it may be a good time to try for them around reefs and wrecks.
Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551): Zack reports Spanish mackerel have pushed up into the bay to about the Gandy Bridge area, following schools of baitfish. Some large mangrove snapper are being taken by anglers bottom-fishing in the deep, rocky channels in the bay, taking smaller fish around shallow structure like residential docks. Shrimp is the best bait. Redfish have been on the shallow flats, around mangroves and oyster bars. Weedon and Picnic islands have been good places to look. Snook have moved out of the backcountry, rivers and creeks, so start looking for them on the outside points and mangroves. They also have been running the light lines under the bay bridges at night. Trout have been on the outside edges of grass flats where they drop into deeper water, and some anglers have picked up some tripletail around bay markers and tripods. Sheepshead fishing remains pretty good around any kind of structure and the whiting bite has been good for anglers fishing deeper channels with shrimp.
Angler 360 (727-669-5455): Steve reports customers continue to do well fishing the pilings of the big bridge on the Courtney Campbell Causeway. Live shrimp will get it done, but fiddler crabs are the better choice. The grass flats on either side of the causeway have been giving up some trout for anglers fishing shrimp under popping corks or jigs with soft-plastic tails.
We’re always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what’s going on!
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Best trending stories from the week.
Best trending stories from the week.
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:

source