Fishing Reports

I will start posting the reports on my main site, Fishing4idiots! I will keep this site up for about 2 more weeks! Check Fishing4idiots every Thursday/Friday for the update!
Thanks for reading!
Alex

OFFSHORE

Offshore fishing has been good for grouper diggers. Consistent catches of quality fish are coming from depths ranging from 40-to 65-feet of water. Frozen baits like cigar minnow, squid, and Spanish sardines, when you can get them, are working well on gags. However, live baits like pinfish, grunts, squirrelfish, and fresh cut baits are also working well. Mangrove snapper fishing slowed a bit, but anglers fishing rock piles just outside the mouth of Tampa Bay near Egmont Key are finding a few mangos in the 3-pound class taking scaled sardines.

Spanish mackerel that seemed to disappear for a few days during the cold spell a week or so ago are back, but have thinned out. Macks ranging from a pound to 4-pounds or so are being caught on Diamond Jigs and silver spoons off the beaches. Winds out of the south and southeast that are predicted for the weekend could squelch the possibility of catching them this weekend. Higher winds will likely stir up coastal waters, pushing macks offshore. Bonito have also been in the catch on nearshore reefs and wrecks.

INSHORE

Southern waters in Sarasota have been productive for anglers this week. Capt. Jim Klopfer out of CB Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key reported good catches of bluefish, Spanish mackerel, trout, pompano, jacks and ladyfish in south Sarasota Bay on live shrimp, Cotee Jigs, and Exude soft plastic baits. Capt. Rick Grassett put his clients on a variety of fish on Sarasota Bay. Using Clouser Minnow flies, CAL Jigs with jerk worms and shad tails, and DOA Deadly Combos, Grassett’s anglers catch mirrored Klopfer’s and also included flounder and even saw some monster Spanish mackerel in the 7-to 8-pound range.

Dr. Harvey Partridge and I caught snook, trout, and redfish in the potholes in Terra Ceia Bay and lower Tampa Bay while fishing with me around the holidays. Using CAL Jigs with shad tails snook to 28-inches and redfish to 23-inches gave us good action on the incoming tide.

Anglers in the south region of the state are looking forward to the reopening of spotted seatrout season January 1. Guys working Clearwater Bay to Dunedin caught and released good numbers of trout in the 2-to 3-pound class on live shrimp and Series III TT MirrOlures. Productive trout waters in the North Region, north of Fred Howard Park produced trout to 5-pounds, but the top speckled trout waters have to be ranging well to the north on the Nature Coast between Homosassa and Crystal River. According to Capt. William Toney of www.homosassainshorefishing.com, the water temperature has taken the winter plunge, but great fishing can still be found especially on the warmer days. Progress Energy's hot water outflow is a good spot for a variety of species like redfish, trout, black drum, ladyfish, jacks and cobia. Live shrimp will catch plenty of fish but D.O.A. CAL Jigs with Shad tails on a quarter-ounce chartreuse jig head and MirrOLure TT series lures are working well. Be very careful of manatees in the area, as they are really showing up in good numbers there to enjoy the warmer waters of the power plant and the springs. He says Kings Bay in Crystal River has some good trout, jack, and ladyfish action early in the morning before the manatee divers come out. The south side of Mason Creek is holding plenty of redfish. Toney said the best way to catch them is on a fly rod using a crab pattern with dark colors tied with a little crystal flash. On the nearshore rock piles northwest of marker #2 out of Homosassa, Toney recommends that you look for sheepshead. He rigs a 2/0 Eagle Claw hook and quarter-ounce split shot with live shrimp to get the bite. High outgoing tide out of the Homosassa area will be early morning this weekend and water will remain generally low water though out the day there. For details on fishing and manatee tours in the area go to www.visitcitrus.com.

OFFSHORE

Our first real cold front blew in at the beginning of the week, having an affect on our fishing. Spanish and king mackerels that had been active on nearshore artificial reefs off Pinellas and Manatee counties moved offshore in the blow on Sunday, and the dropping temperatures for the following days drove them as well as other species into deeper water.

Grouper fishing that showed some good action from Pasco south in water depths less that 50-feet slowed. Gags began moving out beyond the 50-foot mark, but that move is more gradual than the pelagics. With deeper water, temperatures are slower to change, so grouper fishing will likely rebound with the warming temps seen toward the end of the week.

Another front is due in for the weekend with more wind, but the temperatures will remain mild. By Sunday, winds are predicted to be easterly, helping to flatten seas and clean nearshore waters. If so, look for the possibility of some Spanish mackerel or kings to be back.

INSHORE

Inshore snook fishing took a nose dive for a few days following last Sunday’s blow. Water temperatures dropped considerably, moving snook to deep water in residential canals, rivers, and creeks. The closed fishery for snook this time of year is for protection of the species when water temperatures get very cold. They get so lethargic in cold weather that it’s possible to literally pick up stunned fish with a dip net, thus the closure making possession illegal.

Redfish are loving this cooler weather. Reds moved around on the flats and sought deeper channels, potholes, and boat docks in rivers and canals, but they continued to hit jigs and live shrimp. Trout did much the same, and the warming trend for the weekend should bring fish back out on to the flats.

Cobia have begun to show inside Tampa Bay. As water temps fall, look for fish to begin showing close to warm water outfalls from the power plants. Presently they’re being spotted around channel and range markers. Grouper have been chewing in the Egmont Ship’s Channel and inside Tampa Bay in the channel just inside the Skyway Bridge. Mann’s Stretch 25 and 30 baits trolled on 50-to 80-pound Power Pro are taking gags to 15-pounds.

I am sorry, I was not able to fish this week. Due to some weather, and some family issues. Sorry for the bummer.. And I will be posting next weeks on Thursday. So please continue to visit me at Fishing4idiots and here! And have a great holiday season!

OFFSHORE

Water depths ranging from 40 to 65 feet have been productive for bottom fishing lately, with anglers hitting 80 feet for grouper in the greatest ratio of keeper size to shorts. The shallower stuff is holding good numbers, and if it’s a tug on the line you’re after, don’t run past the shallows to go deep. You’ll still find legal fish, but you’ll just have to return more shorts.

Capt. William Toney out of MacRae’s in Homosassa reported good action on shallow-water grouper in as skinny as 8 feet, but legal gags are beginning to head west with the cooler weather. More consistent catches of legal fish are coming from between 15 and 20 miles west of Chassahowitzka Point.

Cobia are in the catch for a number of anglers working the inshore and mid-range artificial reefs off Sarasota. Kingfish action is also available there, as well as north up the coast to Clearwater. Hard bottom off Sand Key is producing grunts, Spanish and king mackerel, and a few grouper.

INSHORE

Cool weather moved fish around this week, but with the warming trend ahead for the weekend, you can expect a good bite in the making. Look for trout action in the North Region to be quite good. Anglers working areas off Anclote Key to Hernando Beach are finding schools of trout weighing 2 pounds and more. Jigs and Shrimp fished under the clacking-cork rigs like the Cajun Thunder and DOA Clacker work well.

Specks in the South Region are biting well too, but the closed season puts a damper on targeting these tender fish. Silver trout are coming on strong as are whiting in south Tampa Bay. Deeper holes around Joe Bay and in the Manatee River are producing both species. Areas off Weedon Island and the power plant are holding silver trout in 14 to 22 feet of water. Jigs dropped to the bottom are producing some decent-size sand trout up to 17 inches along with the silvers.

Redfish have been cooperative in Terra Ceia as a number of over-slot fish have been caught. Several in the upper 30-inch range were caught near the mouth of the Manatee River along the Bulkhead on CAL Jigs with shad tails.

Good catch and release action on snook can be had while fishing live shrimp and DOA Shrimp. Linesiders have been moving back into residential canals and up the rivers this week on the approaching cold front. A warm-up could move fish back on to the flats for the weekend, but they won’t stray far from their winter headings.

Skipping pompano seem to have thinned out or disappeared in south Tampa Bay. Cooler nights could have moved the fish, but the Pinellas Point area held good numbers of fish prior to the front.