Cloudy early with some clearing expected late. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 81F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph..
Cloudy early with some clearing expected late. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 81F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Updated: July 11, 2024 @ 8:10 pm
This youngster could not be more proud of the trout he landed on a Tampa Bay charter trip with Capt. Chuck Rogers. Capt. Chuck reports the trout bite slowed a little over the past week. The fish have been on grass bottom with sandy holes in 5 to 6 feet of water.
This jumbo mangrove snapper was taken on rocks in 10 feet of water on a Tampa Bay charter with Capt. George Hastick. Snapper this size are more often found well offshore in the Gulf, so this catch was a surprise that Capt. George at first might have been a gag grouper due to how hard it fought. The fish fell for a live sardine.

This youngster could not be more proud of the trout he landed on a Tampa Bay charter trip with Capt. Chuck Rogers. Capt. Chuck reports the trout bite slowed a little over the past week. The fish have been on grass bottom with sandy holes in 5 to 6 feet of water.
This jumbo mangrove snapper was taken on rocks in 10 feet of water on a Tampa Bay charter with Capt. George Hastick. Snapper this size are more often found well offshore in the Gulf, so this catch was a surprise that Capt. George at first might have been a gag grouper due to how hard it fought. The fish fell for a live sardine.
Capt. Chuck Rogers (813-918-8356): Capt. Chuck has been doing well on trout, though he notes that the numbers and average size dropped over the past week. The 5- to 6-foot depths around grass and sand bottom have been best. He also says the Spanish mackerel remain no-shows off St. Pete and up to the Gandy, perhaps pushed out by more freshwater entering the Bay from rain and runoff.
While he isn’t targeting them, it might be a good time to bounce a jig tipped with shrimp on sandy bottom for flounder. One of his anglers took a nice one off Weedon Island on a recent trip. Sharks are a good bet right now, as they are all over the Bay. One of his anglers landed one of about 40 pounds.
Look for reds and snook along the mangroves when the water is high. Bay water temperatures were running about 87 degrees, down from 90 degrees, which is putting most species in a better mood and more likely to eat. Mangrove snapper can provide some reliable action now, with fish along the edges of rocky channels, around bridge and dock pilings. Small, live sardines or shrimp are good bait choices.
Capt. George Hastick (727-525-1005): Capt. George has been putting his anglers on some good mangrove snapper fishing. He’s finding them on rocky bottom in 8 to 10 feet of water. Small, live scaled sardines have been his bait of choice, and he reports the average size of the snapper has been unusually large for the Bay, with one of his anglers landing one that measured 21.5 inches long. Working mangroves on either side of the Bay below the Gandy Bridge will turn up a few snook and reds, with the end of the day and a moving tide the best opportunity for either. Keep and eye out for mullet schools, as the reds have been running with them. Grass flats with deeper sand holes in 3 to 4 feet of water have been producing a few keeper trout. Sand bars have been the place to find sharks, with bonnetheads and blacktips most plentiful.
Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551): Zack says anglers have been limiting their fishing to early and late in the day, when things are cooler and the fish are biting better. If the tide is up and moving out, the fish are feeding best. It appears a few more snook are moving back into the Bay from the Gulf beaches and passes, with smaller males up around mangroves on high water, falling out onto the deeper, open flats and holes when the water is down. It’s much the same for reds, with the Pinellas side of the Bay providing better action over the past week.
Mangrove snapper fishing is solid right now, with fish on rocks, dock and bridge pilings, as well as in the Bay channels. Tarpon numbers are good, with the big fish cruising the bridge light lines at night, and schools rolling around the bootleg south of Picnic Island in the day. Trout fishing slowed over the past week, and those who landed a few found them on grass flats in 6 feet of water.
Riviera Bait & Tackle (727-954-6365): Jacob reports anglers are working the Gulf passes and beaches for snook, but also pompano. The tarpon are on the beaches, as well, and it’s been a better bet than the Bay bridges, with the Gandy Bridge not holding as many as in recent weeks. There are a lot of sharks in the Bay and off the beaches. Trout fishing has been slower in most places but there has been good action on fish 17 to 19 inches on the grass beds around Fort De Soto.
Offshore, mangrove snapper, hogfish, mutton and yellowtail snapper have been landed around the 80-foot depths. Those doing best on red snapper have been starting in 120 feet.
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