Mangrove snapper biting both offshore and inshore in Tampa Bay

1: At Big Pier 60 in Clearwater, plenty of mangrove snapper have been caught this past week. Speckled trout, sheepshead, whiting and jack crevalle have also been steady catches, reports Big Pier 60 Bait & Tackle (727-462-6466).

2: At Madeira Beach, good numbers of black sea bass are biting in nearshore waters around 30- to 50-feet deep. There’s also plenty of mangrove and lane snapper, porgies and Spanish mackerel. The hogfish bite is also improving. Start looking for juvenile king mackerel after this next upcoming full moon, reports Capt. Dylan Hubbard of Hubbard’s Marina (727-393-1947).

Fish of the Week

Mangrove Snapper: Good numbers of snapper are biting both offshore and inshore around the Tampa Bay area this week.

Strike Zone, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Elsewhere

3: At John's Pass, there’s lots of mangrove snapper around the pass and they are “hungry.” Good numbers of snook and redfish are in the pass from the jetty to inside and there’s tons of bait. Spanish mackerel, jacks, whiting, and some bluefish have been caught around the jetty. There’s also a few tarpon in the pass in the mornings, reports Hubbard.

4: At Fort De Soto Park, there’s plenty of mangrove snapper along with snook, sheepshead and some juvenile tarpon around the marina and the bridge. Snapper are also holding on structure around the area keys. There’s a good redfish bite on the flats around both Jackass and Tarpon Key. The Bunces Pass bridge leading into the park is producing pompano and some mackerel on Doc’s Jigs. The Bay Pier is producing mackerel and pompano, along with snook on the beach. The Gulf Pier is good for snapper, snook, mackerel, sheepshead and jacks. Bunces Pass is producing pompano and whiting, reports Capt. Claude Hinson at Tierra Verde Bait and Tackle (727-864-2108).

5: Around the Sunshine Skyway and lower Tampa Bay, mangrove snapper are all over the place. Rock piles, ledges, the bridges, even potholes on the flats are holding good size snapper, reports Capt. Shawn Crawford of Florida Sport Fishing Outfitters (941-705-3160). Gag grouper fishing remains good throughout the lower bay while both trolling and fishing live bait. Mangrove snapper and Spanish mackerel are also plentiful. Some good size cobia showed up this week on some of the inner bay reefs. While chumming for snapper, have a larger rod ready to pitch a live pinfish at these fish. The big outgoing tides this week have been producing good snook fishing outside of Rattlesnake Key on the lower part of the tide. The fish are sitting in about a foot of water outside of the main sandbar, reports Capt. John Gunter of Palmetto (863-838-5096).

6: At Anna Maria, mangrove snapper can be found on just about any structure. The bridges and structure around Longboat Pass are also producing snapper. Palma Sola Bay is holding good numbers of snook, redfish and trout. Tripletail and cobia are showing up some of the markers in the sound, reports Capt. Shawn Crawford of Florida Sport Fishing Outfitters (941-705-3160).

7: At St. Petersburg, mangrove snapper are biting just about anywhere there’s structure and more sheepshead are mixing in the same spots. Snapper are also biting in the channel between Weedon Island and the Gandy, as well as the reefs and the channel in the lower bay. Keeper gag grouper are also biting along the channel in the Skyway area. The Misner Bridge and the Bunces bridges are all producing pompano. There’s also pompano biting at Pass-a-Grille. Redfish and snook are pretty good around Weedon Island and Pinellas Point. There’ also plenty of snook biting around Bayboro, reports Larry Mastry at Mastry’s Tackle (727-896-8889).

8: In the north end of Tampa Bay, there’s still plenty of mangrove snapper biting on most structure and around the bridges. More sheepshead are showing up in the same spots as well. There’s still bunches of redfish and snook on the area flats and more schools of redfish are showing up. Some mackerel are showing up in the bay and around the bridge. Mackerel have also been caught from the Picnic Island Pier. Pompano are biting around the bridges on Doc’s Jigs. Silver trout are starting to show in the deeper channels and some tripletail have been caught on the markers, reports Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551).

Elsewhere

• At Homosassa, “some of the best mangrove snapper fishing in memory is happening on our nearshore rocks. Live shrimp on a 1/8th oz. jig head is the best bait,” reports Capt. William Toney of Homosassa Inshore Fishing Charters (352-621-9284). The speckled trout bite has picked up with cooler weather. Soft plastics such as a MirrOlure Lil John under popping cork have produced the best action. Spanish mackerel have shown up and are biting freelined, live shrimp nearshore around a depth of 10 feet, reports Toney.

• At Fort Pierce, offshore on the bottom, it’s mostly mangrove snapper and a few muttons at a depth of 80 feet. Kingfish are biting on the troll, along with the occasional sailfish and mahi. At the inlet, whiting and pompano are biting in the surf. Snook and tarpon are feeding early on glass minnows in the surf off the south jetty. Live bait is producing snook inside the inlet. Inside the river, mangrove snapper are biting around the bridges and along the deeper channel edges, reports Clint Walker at the Fishing Center of St. Lucie (772-465-7637).