Fresh Gulfport Fishing Reports

8 and 10 hr trips paying off nicely.

Crazy to think there is only one month left in 2022, this year really flew by! December will bring cooler temps in the next week or so but the last few weeks of fishing have remained steady and productive. We are seeing our typical pelagics making their way closer to shore with the cobia bite heating up in the bay and off the beach, as well as a good kingfish and mackerel bite going on currently. The Gag Grouper bite inside the bay and near shore has been hot. Live pinfish this time of year are plentiful and have been the ticket while cut bait and sardines can get the job done. We do have some unfortunate news to report for the bay as we’re seeing reports of red tide all the way up to 7 miles or so off the beach. Although we are not seeing any fish kills, the water is a dark brown color, as the water has made its way north from Ian hitting the Fort Myers area. I’ve also seen some reports of Lake Okeechobee potentially needing to release water, which would be bad timing with this looming bloom. We usually see red tide blooms in the summer months as the high water temps and high nitrogen level pollutants cause extreme blooms that suck the oxygen out of the water and kill fish and marine life. However, during the hotter months we always hope for a storm to push the bloom offshore or we have to wait for a cold snap to kill it. Seeing the water such a dark brown this time of year is uncommon and must be attributed to our late hurricane activity this season. Making our way inshore, the trout bite is turning on with the lowering water temps and abundance of small baits on the flats. Work swim baits and jerk shads over the potholes on the flats. When scouting a new area, I typically like to start shallower and work deeper until I find the size range I’m targeting. Trout will stick in similar size groups; so if you’re consistently catching small 12-14in trout in 2-3ft of water, try bumping out to 5-6ft of water where the 15-20+in fish may be sitting. I enjoy targeting trout with funky colors in the winter months like pink and chartreuse. The snook bite has remained steady with the big fish starting to feed heavier as they prepare to make their way up the creeks and rivers getting ready for cold-water temps and more lethargic feeding patterns. They have started to thin out in the passes and beach areas, but just as one species vacates another files in. The pompano and sheepshead bite is beginning to pop off for the winter. Goofy jigs and shrimp tipped teasers are an easy go-to when targeting them. You have a lot of options in the winter months with Grouper being open another month, pelegics off the beach are firing, and redfish, trout, and sheepshead are getting right, get out there and try your luck! Until next year, Capt Skylar

Water temps running upper 70's with tons of large schools of bait all over the nearshore reefs. This week we boated a 42lb Barracuda the crushed a lived bait on a flat line. Mangrove snapper are getting larger with an average size of 14inches with a couple in the 17inch range. We also have caught and released 3 gags that went 24-26inches,

No report last week due to good old mother nature and her nasty southwest wind. This week we where able to get several nearshore trips out and did it pay off. Catch included lots of big sheepshead the biggest of which was 21.5inches. Also boated a few Hogfish, and a slob of a mangrove snapper going just over 19inches. Pics posted above are from three seperate trips. Large schools of white bait and cigar minnows (sardines cousin) are in with large schools of barracuda cruising the reefs. While we have not put any Kings in the boat yet, there are reports of them been caught. Capt. Rich

Nearshore spots are still producing some large Sheepshead along with some decent Mangrove Snappers. Bait schools are popping up along with schools of Barracudas

Thankfully, so far this hurricane season Florida has been spared. However, with Ida sliding by Florida’s west coast it did bring surf, bands of rain, and wind, which may have blown some Red Tide blooms back into our region. There have been some reports since Ida that the coastline is registering blooms and the blooms have brought back some of the stench, although there have not been too many reports of dead fish, which is a positive. The Bay is looking clean and clear over these last few weeks with the snook and trout bite remaining steady for summer as the inshore redfish bite starting to take off as we get closer to fall. Soon we will have a steady concentration of big bull redfish moving throughout the deeper parts of the bay and passes as they spawn. Live shrimp has been an easy ticket to a good day inshore in Tampa Bay as the sheepshead are getting plentiful, the snapper have been firing off, and the snook, redfish, and trout are happy to find an easy meal drifting through the current. Bait around Tampa Bay has been tough for the past several weeks but we are now starting to find bigger concentrations of “fishable” pilchards as the fry bait continues to grow. The tide has been forcefully moving as it typically does in the summer, which makes for great fishing at both the end of incoming and beginning of outgoing. As the water begins to fill up the mangroves for high tide it’s a great time to pitch baits around the trees and points of islands where the current gets swept through and with it a continual flow of bait and nutrients for predators. Fish the up-current side and drift your baits through those ambush points and corners until the water is just about touching the hanging mangrove limbs and then try your luck skipping baits under the limbs into the shadows when the sun gets up high. High tide is a perfect time for cut bait such as ladyfish, pinfish, and mullet making them a great alternative if you’re confident fish are moving through the area but using the cover of the mangroves for protection. As the tide flips and begins to move out, work your way out of that area with the tide and you will continue to find fish exiting the area making their way to deeper pockets and passes. Get geared up for the Fall KOB! Capt. Skylar