Fresh Clearwater Fishing Reports

On our Inshore Fishing Charters this week we were focused on one thing . . . Snook! The calendar finally flipped, the first “bait rains” are pouring off the causeways, and snook season is open. From the Seminole Street Boat Ramp south through Clearwater Pass and north into St. Joseph Sound, fish are pouring off the beaches and stacking on points, docks, bridges, and mangrove edges. If you’ve been waiting for a sign to plan a Clearwater snook charter, this is it. Conditions snapshot Bait: Thick pilchards (whitebait), threadfins, and glass minnows on markers and edges early. Tides: Stronger moon tides = best ambush windows on points, seawalls, and passes. Water: Still summer-warm; snook are aggressive at first light and again when tide speed picks up. Where we’re fishing: Clearwater Harbor edges, ICW points, dock lines with current, bridges, and the up-tide corners of passes. Why early fall is the best snook window Fish are fired up: They’ve spent summer cruising the beaches; now they slide back inside to feed hard ahead of the first cool snaps. Bait is everywhere: Easy to net, easy to chum—perfect for family trips and numbers days. Target variety: We’ll catch snook while picking at redfish, trout, mangrove snapper, and the nearshore mackerel bite can be a bonus on longer trips. Predictable setups: Tide + structure + shade lines around Clearwater make snook positioning more consistent than midsummer. Tackle & techniques (what we run on Tightlines) Gear: Shimano spinning rods and reels in the 3000–4000 class with 20–30 lb braid and 30–40 lb fluorocarbon leaders. Live bait: Pilchards or pinfish free-lined to dock shadows, seawalls, and current seams. Artificial: Topwaters and walk-the-dog plugs at gray light; then paddle tails / jerk shads on 1/8–3/8 oz jig heads when the sun rises. Boat handling: We set up up-tide and present baits back naturally—short accurate casts beat “bombing” long ones. Best trips to book for snook 4-Hour Inshore (most popular): Sunrise launch, fish the first tide window hard, and be back before the heat. Link this text to your 4-hour page. 6-Hour Split: Start with snook on structure, then slide nearshore for mackerel/snapper if conditions allow. Link to your 6-hour page. 2-Hour Quick Trip (families): Perfect for kids—short run, lots of action around bait schools. Link to your 2-hour page. 8-Hour Full Day: Chase the morning snook bite, break mid-day, and hit the afternoon tide swing. Link to your 8-hour page. Where we’re finding them (this week) Dock lines & seawalls: Shade + moving water = ambush. Skip a bait under the catwalk and hang on. Bridge fenders: Fish the up-current side first; count your bait down and keep contact. Pass corners: Clearwater Pass edges on a moving tide—short windows but big rewards. Mangrove points: Look for glass minnows being harassed; toss a pilchard or slow-roll a paddletail. Pro tips to convert bites: Leader check: After each fish or nick, shorten and re-tie—snook sandpaper will cost you. Cast angles: Throw past the target and swim the bait through the zone; don’t land right on their heads. Be patient: Let the snook load the rod on live bait; steady pressure beats a big “home-run” hookset. What’s included on our charters: All licenses, top-tier Shimano gear, bait, tackle, ice, and water. Up to 6 guests. We’ll coach newer anglers and still put advanced anglers on technical setups if you want to sight-fish or throw artificials only. Next Week’s Preview “Open Snook Season = Peak Booking Window.” We’ll lean even harder into sunrise snook missions with stronger moon tides, more bait on the flats, and fish repositioning deeper inside Clearwater Harbor. If snook is your target, lock in a sunrise 4-hour while we have prime dates—this is the stretch we circle on the calendar every year for consistent numbers and shots at slot fish.

Always fun when a brown cow shows up !

Red snapper and grouper bite was insane!

Early September is here and the Nearshore Fishing Trips out of Clearwater are HOT! The “bait rains” are pouring off the bridges and markers, and the Gulf just outside Clearwater Pass is alive. Expect Spanish mackerel and bonito blitzes outside on moving water, while beach snook chew at first light along Clearwater Beach. If you’ve been waiting for that window where you can do a little of both—inshore edges at sunrise and nearshore action once the sun climbs—this is the week. ** Don't forget to check out last weeks Blog ** Conditions Snapshot Bait: Big waves of pilchards (whitebait), threadfins, and glass minnows. Look on range markers, shadow lines, and windward shorelines at dawn. Water/Weather: Late-summer temps; clarity fluctuates with wind direction. Light east or southeast morning breeze = best surface feeds. Tides: Stronger moon tides amplify ambush points at the passes, docks, and seawalls; nearshore feeds fire on the first couple of hours of moving water. Launch: Seminole Street Boat Ramp puts us minutes from the beach and a quick hop through Clearwater Pass to the nearshore reefs and bait stacks. Beach Snook at First Light (Clearwater Beach) Snook have been haunting the troughs and the first bar—especially around dawn and again when that first decent tide starts to tug. We’re pitching live pilchards tight to the sand line, then walking baits parallel to the beach. When bait flips in the foam or birds start picking, make a cast immediately—you’ve got a short window. Go-to setup (what we run): Shimano 5000 class spinning on med-heavy rods 20 lb braid → 40 lb fluoro leader Live pinfish on a 3/0 circle; or a for artificials we use NLBN paddletails and shrimp on 1/4 oz jig heads Presentation: Cast up-current/along the bar, keep your bait moving naturally, and let the snook load the rod before you lean. Pro tip: If the surf is too glassy, slide to dock shade or bridge fenders as the sun creeps up. Those edges stay productive longer than the open beach. Nearshore Blitzes: Spanish Mackerel & Bonito Once the sun is up and the beach window fades, we’re easing just outside the pass to run the nearshore edges (2–6 miles, conditions-dependent). You’re looking for birds, bait dimpling, and surface rips. When the screen lights up or the birds pinwheel, it’s game on. Tactics that produce: Chum slick + live pilchards free-lined behind the boat for non-stop mack bites. Casting spoons/jigs (½–1 oz) on 20–30 lb fluoro; add a short, light wire if cutoffs are frequent. High-speed burns for bonito—keep the jig moving and hang on. Trolling small spoons behind planers when the surface gets quiet helps you cover ground and find the next feed. Bonus targets: On 6–8 hr trips with stable conditions, we’ll also check nearby structure for mangrove snapper and the occasional grouper. It’s a fun combo day: bend rods outside, then put a few for the table in the box when the blitz settles. Best Trips to Book This Week 4-Hour Inshore: Hit first light snook along Clearwater Beach, then pivot to docks/bridges once the sun’s up. 6-Hour Nearshore Combo: Start inside for snook, then slide outside for mackerel/bonito and a shot at snapper on structure. 2-Hour Quick Trip: Short runs, lots of action with bait everywhere—perfect for kids and first-timers. 8-Hour Full Day: Max flexibility to chase blitzes, reset on tides, and work multiple zones. What We Provide (So You Can Just Fish) All licenses, premium Shimano spinning gear, bait, tackle, ice, and water. Up to 6 guests. We coach newer anglers, and we’re happy to run artificial-only programs for those who want to sharpen that game. Quick Tips to Convert Bites Leaders: Check for nicks every fish or two; replace before it costs you. Cast angles: Present with the tide whenever possible. Macks/bonito: Keep that retrieve moving—if you think you’re reeling fast, reel a little faster. Snook: Keep pressure steady; avoid the “home-run” hookset—circles do the work. Next Week’s Preview Snook Season = Prime Booking Window. As we slide deeper into September, snook push harder inside Clearwater Harbor with predictable setups on points, docks, and bridges. Bait remains thick, tide speed increases, and the early bite gets even better. If snook is on your list, sunrise 4-hour charters are the ticket—this is the stretch we circle each year for consistent numbers and shots at slot fish.

Last week’s preview called for schooling reds on the Clearwater and Dunedin flats—and they showed. On our Fishing Charters this week we focused on low-water pushes along grass–sand transitions from Clearwater Beach up through the Dunedin Causeway corridor, keying on skinny troughs, pothole chains, and the first dark edges off the bars. The play was patience: find bait flicks, watch for nervous water, and set up ahead of the school instead of chasing it. Conditions Recap Mornings started on low tide and light breeze, laying the flats down just enough to see pushes at 80–100 feet. Water clarity was good with a green tint; sun helped us read potholes and ray craters where reds staged before sliding up-current. Our best windows were the last hour of the outgoing and the first 90 minutes of incoming—classic “fish have to move” periods. Where We Fished & Why We hopscotched grass/sand mosaics behind the barrier islands, then worked closer to the Causeway as water filled. On the bottom of the tide, reds grouped tight on the white plates (potholes) and on bar tips where current pinched. As the tide turned, schools pushed along edges parallel to the shoreline; we set up 40–60 yards off their lane and let the fish come to us. If wakes got jittery, we backed off and drifted with the wind to keep pressure low. Lures, Flies & Presentations Paddletails (3” NLBN) on 1/8 oz jig heads: steady medium retrieve, then pause as the school passes—most eats came right after that stall. Gold spoons (¼ oz) for covering water; tick them just above the grass and keep them moving. Jerk shads (soft plastic) on weighted hooks for ultra-skinny drifts; twitch–twitch–glide. White Leaders: 20–25 lb fluoro; if you must go lighter for a bite, check fray every fish. Results Snapshot Reds: Consistent school encounters with a handful of upper-slot fish mixed in. Best numbers came when we refused to chase and let lanes reload. Trout: Bonus bites on pothole edges during the brighter part of the morning. Snook: A couple surprise edge fish on paddletails near creek mouths as the water climbed. What Worked (Keep/Repeat) Set the trap, don’t chase: Schools settle down when they aren’t being herded. Lead farther than you think: 8–12 feet in front, not at their noses. Small, natural baits: Downsizing sealed the deal in skinny water. Quiet feet, quiet deck: One cooler slam = one departing school. What Didn’t (Skip Next Time): Topwater all morning: Fun at dawn, but they wanted subsurface once the sun hit the flats. Heavy jig heads: Dredged grass and killed the glide; 1/8 oz was the sweet spot. Charging wakes: Even one push toward the school cut our shot count in half. Family & First-Timer Notes We ran short casting clinics on the flats—pick a pothole target, lob it past, then slide the lure in. Kids loved “calling the eat” as wakes crossed the line. We rotate anglers on the bow so everybody gets clean looks and keep the deck free and clear. Captain’s Tip When a school refuses, park and wait. Reds often circle a flat on the first of the incoming; that same school may pass your lane again in 10–15 minutes. Change angle before you change lure—quartering presentations out-fished straight intercepts all week. Gear Corner (Quick Hits) 10lb Sufix 832 braid, 25 lb Yo-Zuri fluoro leader, loop knot to keep action lively. Paddletails: new penny, pearl, or greenback; gold ¼ oz spoon as a search bait. Booking & Best Windows We’re riding a late-August pattern that rewards early launches, good low tides, and quiet drifts. If you want in on the schooling action, target the last-of-outgoing / first-of-incoming and plan for stealth. Flexible? We’ll align your day to the best lane and light. Ready to go fishing? Tap BOOK MY TRIP on the site or call/text **hidden content** to lock your morning. We’ll bring the game plan, the bait, and the coaching—you bring sunglasses and excitement.

The speckled trout bite on the flats has been nonstop!