Partly cloudy. Low 67F. Winds light and variable..
Partly cloudy. Low 67F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: March 16, 2024 @ 7:08 pm
Young angler Caroline shows off a nice mackerel she caught fishing with Capt. Chuck Rogers. The schools have not been as abundant over the past week, but anglers should keep an eye open for them feeding on baitfish in open-water areas of the bay between St. Pete and the Gandy Bridge.

Young angler Caroline shows off a nice mackerel she caught fishing with Capt. Chuck Rogers. The schools have not been as abundant over the past week, but anglers should keep an eye open for them feeding on baitfish in open-water areas of the bay between St. Pete and the Gandy Bridge.
Capt. Chuck Rogers (813-918-8356): Capt. Chuck says some much-needed, cooling rain has helped the fishing in the bay. He’s finding some decent trout action on the grass flats in 6 to 8 feet of water. Spots where the flat drops from 3 or 4 feet to those deeper depths have been most productive. He does recommend fishing the shallower part of the flats very early in the morning, as the fish tend to feed there before heading for the drops as the day warms up. Live shrimp, jigs with soft plastic tails or live sardines work well. The mangrove snapper bite also is on. The fish are on any kind of structure, including dock and bridge pilings, rocks and artificial reefs. Small, live sardines, cut sardines or shrimp will take them. Spanish mackerel schools are in open water below the Gandy, though he has seen as many as earlier in the month.
Capt. George Hastick (727-525-1005): Capt. George has been taking advantage of a very good mangrove snapper bite. He’s finding them around docks, rock piles and about any kind of submerged structure. Cut, fresh scaled sardines, as well as small live ones, are working well. The snapper have been so hungry, he’s even taken them on artificial baits. His anglers also have been surprised by the snapper while fishing flooded mangroves for snook. To target the snook, he’s been drawing them out of the shade of the mangroves with live chum. A redfish or two sometimes is hiding in the growth, though they seem scarce of late. Anyone pounding the mangroves along the face of Weedon Island may find a fish or two, but it is a lot of work. Hastick has heard some anglers are doing OK with reds above the Courtney Campbell Causeway. Trout action has been solid on the grass flats and shell bars that have some live coral. Quarter-ounce jigs with Saltwater Assassin shrimp have been taking them, with soft-plastic jerk baits also producing. He’s finding most of the trout around drop-offs to about 7 feet of water. He’s seeing schooling mackerel in open water mid-bay, but only in the mornings. Jacks are schooling and popping up here and there, and though he hasn’t seen them there are reports of some cobia being taken, including a nice one landed by a friend.
Riviera Bait & Tackle (727-954-6365): Billy reports some of his customers have been finding some keeper-sized cobia. Some have noted the fish have been coming up their boats and hanging out in the shade of them on the flats. Others have scored large cobia around markers and tripods. He recommends checking the bay bridge pilings very early in the day while the water is calm. The cobia feed along the light lines under the bridges at night, often sticking around them near the surface at sunrise before dropping into deeper water to stay cool. Trout fishing has been good, with anglers fishing before noon on grass flats in 6 feet of water and deeper doing best. A few have found schooling mackerel in open water and others have been bragging about a strong mangrove snapper bite around bridge pilings and other structure. Lots of sharks are in the bay, often a nuisance, according to many anglers stopping in the shop. Billy says it looks like we’re about at the end of the bay tarpon fishing. Many seem to have left the bay, though that doesn’t mean there won’t be some “resident” fish that will be around through the rest of the year.
Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551): Bill says anglers have been catching a lot of mangrove snapper under the bay bridges, docks and reefs. Live shrimp is a good bait choice. Mackerel schools are feeding on bait schools in deeper parts of the bay in open water below the Gandy Bridge. Things have been slow for those seeking reds, and it’s been likewise for snook. Many are hoping that action will improve if rains are enough to lower the water temperature. Offshore anglers have not been talking much, but one boat reported getting into a good bite on yellow-tail and mutton snapper 30 miles west of Tampa Bay. Live shrimp is one of the best baits for both species.
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