Once again, we’re catching a little of everything – but not a lot of anything. Variety has been great, with sheepshead, mackerel, mangrove snapper, black drum, snook, red grouper and flounder all making an appearance. Still no sign of bait, although the recently hatched fry are getting thick. Some highlights:
Freshwater fishing has been great this spring:
Looks like the last cold front has blown through, and water temps should be warming over at least the next week or two. Soon, bait will return, and the predators will be right behind them. Meanwhile, things are slow, with the exception of sheepshead.
OK, not too much to report. There have been regular fronts, stirring up the water, dropping the temperatures and bringing howling north winds. So, fishing has been pretty slow. But, not so slow that I don’t have a few catch pictures:
It’s been an odd winter so far. Bait finally left for warmer water, but small mangrove snapper are still hanging around – don’t remember ever seeing them this late in the season. At Merry Pier in Pass-A-Grille, there are tons of big mullet hiding under the dock. A few redfish and drum are still around, but not like they were a month ago. Sheepshead are biting strong if you have fiddler or mud crabs.
Fall fishing is in full swing. Most (but not all) of the bait has moved south, and only a few stragglers are left from the hoards of mangrove snapper and mackerel that were so thick a few weeks ago. A few (very few) redfish, snook and grouper have been caught. But black drum and flounder have been on fire since the water turned cooler. The drum hang around the slips and under the dock at Merry pier, and will readily take a live shrimp (if the numerous puffers, filefish, and pinfish don’t get there first). Flounder to 20″ have been caught on mud minnows, root beer & white jigs, and live shrimp.
Bait is moving out, and fish are in transition. In South St. Pete Beach, mackerel are gone, snapper are getting scarce, and flounder are starting to show. A couple good cold fronts will bring in more typical November patterns, but the unseasonably warm weather has left fishing in flux. A few highlights from the last couple weeks:
Fall is in the air. At Merry Pier in Pass-A-Grille, there is still plenty of bait around. The snapper bite has cooled off, but some decent fish are still around. Flounder are showing up early, and this may be a banner flounder season come November. Gag grouper are still scarce, but keepers are coming up every few days. Black drum (big) and redfish (small) are around, but not exactly thick. Plenty of snook around, but the ones that are biting are all under slot minimum size. A few recent pictures:
OK, no cobia. That’s the bad news. The good news – pretty much EVERYTHING else is biting! Big mangrove snapper, black drum, keeper grouper, snook, mackerel, flounder – you name it. Snapper have been the primary target at Merry Pier, and limits of 12″-15″ are common. Drum and redfish are hiding under the dock, along with the occasional snook. And flounder are showing up in the slips – mostly smaller, but a few nice ones mixed in. Grouper are scarce compared to previous years, but legal size fish have been landed the last couple weekends. All-in-all, a great time to get out and drop a line.
Had a great weekend fishing the Merry Pier in Pass-A-Grille. Saturday found tons of bait swarming the structure, and plenty of hungry fish around. Big mangrove snapper, macks, small grouper – even an ‘almost legal’ 31″ cobia. Sunday was good, too, despite Saturday night’s heavy rains. More snapper, plus flounder, a 20″ gag grouper, a few big stingrays, and a 10″ lane snapper. My Birthday was Sunday, and it was a great time. Looking forward to the 3 day weekend coming up!
The calendar says August, but the fishing seems more like October. Hot fish this weekend included redfish, flounder and black drum, along with the ever popular mangrove snapper. There are cobia and sharks cruising in the deeper channels, and a few short gag grouper are making an appearance.
