Saltwater fishing: Fall Redfish bite is starting to pick up around Tampa Bay

1. At Big Pier 60 in Clearwater, mangrove snapper and sheepshead have been steady this week. A couple of gag grouper and a black sea bass were caught. Good numbers of snook are lurking around the pier as well, reports Big Pier 60 Bait & Tackle (727-462-6466).

2. At Madeira Beach, nearshore there are Spanish mackerel and lane snapper on the bottom. The hogfish bite is picking up and there’s also mangrove snapper and black sea bass. Deeper offshore, there’s mangrove, lane, yellowtail and vermillion snapper, along with porgies and gag grouper. For the pelagics, there’s wahoo, some early season kingfish and blackfin tuna, reports Capt. Dylan Hubbard of Hubbard’s Marina (727-393-1947).

What's Biting: Redfish

The fall season redfish bite has turned on for Tampa Bay area anglers. Pods of redfish and some big schools have been reported around the bay. 

Strike Zones: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Elsewhere

3. At John's Pass, snook are “stacked up” in the pass and the best bite has been at the end of the incoming and start of the outgoing tides. Redfish are also hugging the bottom in the pass. Mangrove snapper and sheepshead are biting around the pilings and structure. The jetty is producing all of the above fish, along with whiting, Spanish mackerel and jacks. Juvenile tarpon are mixed in at night, reports Hubbard.

4. At Fort De Soto Park, snook, mangrove snapper, sheepshead and pompano are biting around the marina. There’s also tarpon at night. Good numbers of redfish are biting on the flats and a big school of reds was roaming the Tierra Verde area Wednesday. Conception and Jackass Keys have a good snook and redfish bite. Snapper are also biting in the deeper cuts on the flats. The Gulf Pier is producing snapper and sheepshead around the pilings. Spanish mackerel and a variety of sharks are biting at the piers. Tripletail are on the buoys along the beaches, reports Capt. Claude Hinson at Tierra Verde Bait and Tackle (727-864-2108).

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5. Around the Sunshine Skyway and lower Tampa Bay, Spanish mackerel have moved into the entire lower part of the bay. Anywhere you go you can catch mackerel. More large schools of redfish are showing up weekly along the Bulkhead area outside of the Manatee River. Look for schools of mullet and the redfish will not be far behind. The mangrove snapper bite remains excellent. Deeper rock piles and ledges in the shipping channel are producing best on slow tides or on the slack part of the tides. Good numbers of gag grouper continue to bite along the channel, reports Capt. John Gunter of Palmetto (863-838-5096).

6. At Anna Maria, redfish have been roaming on the high tides in many different areas from Miguel Bay south to Longboat Pass. The rocks inside and outside of Longboat Pass have been holding a lot of mangrove snapper. Good numbers of trout are biting on the deeper grass flats inside the passes. Snapper are biting in the deeper cuts and around structure on the flats, reports Capt. Shawn Crawford of Florida Sport Fishing Outfitters (941-705-3160).

7. At St. Petersburg, the redfish bite is good on the residential docks from Weedon Island to Fort De Soto. Pods of redfish are cruising around the Weedon Island area. There’s a good snook bite inside the bayous around Pinellas Point. The gag grouper bite is really good, on the bottom and while trolling the shipping channel. The mangrove snapper bite is good along the channel and just about any structure. Spanish mackerel are showing up on the beach with good numbers to the north around Clearwater. The Misner and Bunces Pass bridges are producing pompano, reports Larry Mastry at Mastry’s Tackle (727-896-8889).

8. In the north end of Tampa Bay, big schools of redfish have moved into the area. They’re on the west side Gandy flats and the Fourth Street area. Smaller pods of reds are also roaming around Weedon Island. There’s also a good redfish bite in the upper bay along with good size trout and snook. Plenty of snook are biting along the bridge approaches and the flats. The Picnic Island flat has been especially good. The mangrove snapper bite is good around the bridge and any structure. Better numbers of sheepshead are moving in. Pompano are biting shrimp and Doc’s Jigs around the Gandy Bridge. Spanish mackerel have moved up in the bay as far north as the Gandy. The tarpon bite is good at night in the shadow lines of the Gandy and Frankland bridges, reports Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551).

Elsewhere

• At Homosassa, the inshore trout bite is good in 3 to 5 feet of water over yellow bottom. Popping corks with a jig head and dark color, soft plastics are the best baits. For redfish, work the points and rocky shorelines that have jumping mullet on the incoming tide. A gold spoon is will produce the best action. The snook bite is best early in the morning on a high outgoing tide. Some tripletail are holding on the crab trap buoys. Nearshore rocks out to 16 feet are holding keeper gag grouper. Live pinfish or shallow running plugs will get the bite. The same rocks that are holding the gags are also holding keeper size mangrove snapper, reports Toney.

• At Fort Pierce, offshore there’s a decent mangrove snapper bite on the bottom at depth of 80 feet. On the troll, some kingfish are biting at the 50 to 80-foot mark, along with the occasional mahi and sailfish. At the inlet, whiting and pompano are biting in the surf and a few snook have been caught on mullet. Sheepshead, snapper and snook have been caught from the jetty. Snook are taking live baits inside the inlet. Snapper are biting inside around the bridges and the deeper channel edges, reports Clint Walker at the Fishing Center of St. Lucie (772-465-7637).