Sun and clouds mixed. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 92F. Winds E at 15 to 25 mph..
A few clouds. Low 77F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph.
Updated: June 18, 2024 @ 10:15 am
This angler shows off one of the snook taken on a recent trip with Capt. Chuck Rogers. It’s the smaller male fish like this one that have been biting best, with live sardines the top producer. The fish have been tight to the flooded mangroves when the tide is up.

This angler shows off one of the snook taken on a recent trip with Capt. Chuck Rogers. It’s the smaller male fish like this one that have been biting best, with live sardines the top producer. The fish have been tight to the flooded mangroves when the tide is up.
While ol’ Ma Nature can be fickle, most anglers are confident we can say we’re now solidly into a spring fishing pattern, and barring a surprise cold front of any significance, we are all set to enjoy some of the best fishing of the year.
The key is the abundance of live sardines and threadfin shad in the bay, both a major food source for mackerel, snook, tarpon, reds and trout. The sharks are in the bay in force as well, another sign that water temperatures are where anglers like to see them. As long as the weather doesn’t warm too quickly, most are counting on a good two months of action on about everything that swims. After that, the bay water can get pretty warm, slowing down the bite until it reverses in the fall.
Capt. Chuck Rogers (813-918-8356): Capt. Chuck says the fishing is pretty good. He’s finding lots of live bait in the bay, netting scaled sardines easily in the morning and using them for trout, reds and snook. The reds have been hugging the mangroves when the water is high along the west side of the bay between the Gandy and Howard Frankland bridges. The trout have been on the grass beds in 5 to 6 feet of water. He’s taken most of trout below the Gandy, with a few fish of 20 inches or better. Snook have been running with the reds around mangroves when the water is high enough to support them. It’s been the smaller males that have been biting, with the bigger females slow to take a bait. Spanish mackerel schools are popping up mid-bay. Look for bait schools or birds diving on bait to help locate them.
Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551): Zack says anglers have been finding more schooling Spanish mackerel in the open waters of the bay up to the Gandy Bridge area. Fish are spread from there to the Skyway bridge. Trout have moved to a little deeper water now that the water is warming. Fish have been over grass and ledges in 6 to 10 feet of water, taking jigs and live shrimp. Redfish have been working the flats in front and behind Weedon Island and around the south end of Picnic Island. A few are reporting snook, with the better action around structure early and late in the day on the higher part of the tides. The bite on bigger mangrove snapper has been in the bay channels. Tarpon are being spotted rolling in the bay from the Skyway to the Gandy bridges. More sharks are being seen every day. Anglers fishing the beach passes and bridges are taking some pompano, with some reported on the beach at Fort De Soto. Trolling hardware or using live bait has been producing kingfish as close as a mile of the gulf beaches.
Riviera Bait & Tackle (727-954-6365): Billy reports the best thing going has been trout and Spanish mackerel. Both are spread out all over the bay from Fort De Soto to above the Gandy Bridge. Trout have been in 6 to 8 feet of water. Find schooling bait pods to find the mackerel. Redfish have been found in Riviera Bay and along the flats on the front side of Weedon Island. Some snook are being spotted in the same area, but not may are reporting hooking fish. A few customers have been fishing John’s Pass and the gulf beaches for pompano and doing well. Doc’s Goofy Jigs get them. There still are sheepshead being taken around bay bridge pilings, but that bite has slowed down quite a bit with warmer water.
Angler 360 (727-669-5455): Steven says the best thing going at the top of the bay has been trout on the grass flats above and below the Courtney Campbell Causeway. Fish have been in 4 to 8 feet of water. Live shrimp under a popping cork has been working well, though jigs with soft-plastic tails work among artificials. The reds have been found around the creek mouths above the causeway. Good places to look are Double Branch and Rocky creeks.
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