Rain cooled water has been helpful In keeping the fish active on recent trips in Tampa Bay. Snook, Redfish, mangrove snapper and Jack crevall are all targetable species this week. The red tide bloom has receded out of certain areas throughout the bay offering more options for fishing spots. Rocks and bridge structure serve as perfect habitat for mangrove snapper and passing schools of jack crevall. Fishing these structures during the the beginning of the incoming tide not only makes them easier to fish, but will typically provide some fast action while waiting for the tide to come up a bit before heading to the flats for Redfish and snook. Small pilchards free-lined against the structure while using a small hook will allow you to hook the sneaky snapper. Medium to high tides will have the Redfish and snook pushed up under the mangrove canopy. Target points and bushes near creek mouths. Live pilcharrds and pinfish will both get the job done when the perfect cast is made and as the tide continues to rise it becomes more critical to get your bait in the shade provide by the mangrove canopy.

Waters are warming and fish are really moving around good right now. Plenty of snook and a handful of redfish on each trip the past 3 days. This upcoming week looks to be a good one don't hesitate to book a trip if your looking for some light tackle live bait action!

We are now past the midway point for the summer fishing season. Fish in general aren’t going to feed the entire day right now, however there are a few fish that don’t seem to mind the heat as much. Tarpon and sharks are summer favorites for their willingness to feed even during the middle of the day. Late season tarpon fishing can be really good in our area. As we get further away from last week’s full moon, a good number of fish will make their way into Tampa Bay, deeper holes through ought the intercoastal waterway as well as pass bridges and nearshore mitigation reefs. These fish become more resident than migratory as they look to feed heavily at times after a long summer migration. Anglers often choose to cast artificial lures referred to as plugs this time of year as the fish are fairly stationary and spread out. Drifting thru an area of fish and casting to the ones that come up and roll is both exciting and effective. July / August is peak shark season for west central Florida. Sharks of all sizes can be targeted right now, large adult sharks including bulls, hammerheads, nurse and lemon sharks can all be caught right off the beach typically at night. Big baits such as bonita and jack crevalle are what you need to get the attention of a large shark. Small to medium sized blacktip sharks can be found patrolling the deeper water just off of the grass flats all along the Intercoastal waterway. A chum block and some live pinfish under a float is all you need for this sized shark which are a blast on medium sized tackle.

Schools of redfish are staged up in typical fall spots through ought the Intercoastal. The reds have been chewing on both live and cut bait with big days becoming more commonplace. Windy weather this week will only help to break up the Red tide off our coast. So far we haven't experienced any Red tide in the harbor.

Red Tide, Not a Problem Yet For Pinellas Anglers Despite the reports of dead fish washing ashore in the southern portion of Pinellas county, current test results for red tide still show that Pinellas county remains largely free of the toxic red tide algae. The test however indicate a slight presence of red tide which is no doubt concerning for all of us. Currently fishing has been very good at times through ought the Intercoastal as well as Tampa Bay. The best action is still occurring first thing in the morning especially around the full moon phase we had this past week. Redfish schools are becoming more numerous as we head into fall. With the big tides that we’ve been having the best fishing for redfish has occurred during the middle portion of the incoming tide. The redfish are quickly getting to the trees on the incoming tide as they look to forage on crabs. Target the many points along the mangrove shoreline to narrow the search. Live pilchards have worked great early in the tide and switching to cut bait either pinfish or ladyfish has produced better once the tide is up. Snook season begins the first of September. Many of the larger fish will still be found along the beaches and in the passes. Fishing with live grunts free-lined in the tide will produce best especially around the tide changes. Look for the fall transition to begin to take place around the end of the month as many of those bigger fish will set up around the spoil islands and docks along the Intercoastal as they will feed heavily on finger mullet and just about anything else as they try to put on some weight before winter comes. Offshore bottom fishing remains good for red grouper and mangrove snapper in depths of 80 to 100 foot. Target artificial structures such as the Pipeline and the many wrecks in these depths for big mangrove snapper. Chum the fish towards the surface with frozen chum blocks and cut pieces of sardines. Then either free-line or lightly weight a chunk of bait down the chum slick. Red grouper are holding over swiss cheese bottom which are just patches of harder bottom that support marine life inter mixed with sand bottom. Look for bait stacks to congregate the majority on the fish. Fish with either live or frozen bait, when your in the fish it doesn’t seem to matter much. When unable to locate bait stacks, try drifting when conditions allow.

Fishing Gets Better Between Cold Fronts Although our current weather pattern is ushering in three cold fronts a week, the cold fronts thankfully haven’t been as strong as they were at the beginning of the month. With that said water temperatures are slowly rising and brief warm-ups after the fronts pass through have helped for more consistent action than a couple of weeks ago. Speckled trout fishing is holding strong in areas like Ft. Desoto and St. Josephs Sound. Fish areas around the main channel that have a bit of grass on the bottom. It seems as if the trout are congregated more heavily in that deeper water, also with the cooler water plenty of fish have moved into the canals around the passes. Colder overcast days will have the trout hunkering down on the bottom in the middle of the canals. Try fishing shad tail jigs in a variety of colors or a free lined shrimp for best results. This week’s full moon should have the sheepshead preparing to spawn. Masses of sheepshead will make their migration towards near shore structure all through ought Tampa Bay and reefs and rock piles just off our beaches. Look for inland bridges and pass jetties to really start to load up with huge populations of sheepshead over the next couple of weeks. Anglers should target the sheepies with small pieces of fresh shrimp or fiddler crabs. It’s always a good idea to do some chumming with some fresh barnacles that you can scrape from any of the pilings at low tide. Daytime dock fishing has been reliable when the wind is too high to fish the flats. Live shrimp either free-lined or fished on the bottom will work for any predators under the dock. Finding productive docks can take many trips of trial and error, a quicker way to find a good dock is at night. Lighted docks that consistently hold fish at night will also hold fish during the day. Use these docks as starting points and try some of the surrounding docks, as fish are likely to spread out a little during the day.