Tampa Bay fishing
January 28th, 2006 by Fishing admin
Tampa Bay fishing
1. At Big Pier 60 in Clearwater, whiting, silver trout and butterfish about it, with cold fronts keeping water stirred up. Trout action good north of Dunedin Causeway to Fred Howard Park on dark green or brown jigs.
2. At Madeira Beach, grouper action heated up along with weather before front, although it was a bumpy ride, with 7090 feet best depth. Also chunky mangrove snapper. Boats using frozen sardines and squid to get bite going, then dropping live pinfish to produce keepers. Pins can be caught on Sabiki rigs at the same depth. Overnight trips to the Middle Grounds out of Hubbard’s Marina (800-755-0677) producing good grouper and snapper.
3. At John’s Pass, Capt. Chuck MacIntyre of Treasure Island (727-709-9045) reports plenty of sheepshead in residential canals around docks when it’s too windy to get offshore for grouper.
4. At Fort DeSoto Park, anglers concentrating on sheepshead, and flounder started this week, mostly small but a couple of keepers (12-inch minimum). Flounder hitting shrimp on bottom.
5. Around the Sunshine Skyway and lower Tampa Bay, Capt. Shawn Crawford of Lakeland (941-761-0301 in Bradenton) reports excellent trout action, with yellowmouths up to 26 inches on greenbacks. Crawford expecting snook to move to flats with water temp reaching 70 degrees on warm days between fronts. Snook season opens Wednesday. Sheepshead best bet during fronts on shrimp or fiddler crabs around bridges. Grouper at north Skyway Pier, and trolling Mann’s 25-plus or 30-plus magnum plugs and 3- or 4-ounce bucktail jigs on No. 3 planers along rocky outcroppings along shipping channel.
6. At Anna Maria, trout the best bet in Sarasota Bay, taking greenbacks in deeper holes on flats. Couple of sheepshead this week, but still pretty slow at city pier.
7. At St. Petersburg, slim pickings on flats despite warmer weather, reports Capt. Chuck Rogers (Rattlesnake Point Outfitters in south Tampa, 813-918-8356). Snook season opens Wednesday, and Rogers has seen pods of snook on flats although they’re not feeding yet.
8. In the north end of Tampa Bay, trout action picking up with warmer weather, size-wise and number-wise, around Double Branch and Rocky Creek on high tides.
Elsewhere
• Neil Grange and Jimmy David of Miami won the second annual Outdoor Channel Offshore Classic at Islamorada last week with 31 sailfish releases over two days. They were aboard the Relentless with Capt. Paul Ross out of Bud N’ Mary’s Marina. There were 153 releases by 56 boats, and 222 hookups.
• River fishing best at Sebastian Inlet, with pompano, trout, redfish and black drum, reports Wabasso Bait and Tackle (772-589-8518) near the inlet. Spanish mackerel up to 5 pounds off Wabasso Causeway. Pompano in surf Thursday morning with water clean, along with nicesized whiting.
COMPILED BY DEL MILLIGAN