The last few weeks have seen the transition from summer to fall patterns. The bait is, for the most part, gone. There are still a few lingering mangrove snapper, but they have been running really small. The snook vanished as well. The flounder are just beginning to move in – I have seen several 15-22″ flounder landed over the last few weeks. The big push may come with the cold front arriving this week.

Grouper MAY still be around, but winds and tides have not been favorable for targeting them. A surprise visitor over the last couple weeks has been black drum! Sizes have ranged from 10″ to over 3 feet. I landed several in the 7-8 pound range, along with a stray redfish. Rumors of cobia have been floating around, but I have yet to see one caught.

Pass-A-Grille continues to offer great late summer fishing. And, are there big gag grouper around? Yes. Yes, there are.

Fishing in St Pete Beach and Pass-A-Grille is fantastic! A few highlights include nurse sharks, bonnet sharks, red grouper, gag grouper, mangrove snapper, flounder, hogfish, sand perch, Key West grunts, lane snapper, porgies and more. Most of my efforts have been focused on the monster gags and snook hanging around Pass-A-Grille. The snook seem to have lockjaw, but the grouper are biting – and wrecking my 80 lb test tackle!

It’s been a great summer! The Mangrove Snapper bite is the best I’ve seen in years. At the Merry Pier in St. Pete Beach, it’s been a limit of 12″ to 15″ mangos every day, along with scores of 6-11″ fish. The snook are right where they’re supposed to be, and are readily biting – at least until 9/1/13. I’ve been hooking a few monster grouper, but no success in getting them to the net. Plenty of 12-18″ gags, though. Macks are everywhere, busting bait and hitting anything small, shiny and fast moving.

One surprise this weekend was a 28″ cobia. Not quite big enough (33″ is the minimum), but fun anyway. My buddy Tim was in the Keys for the lobster mini season, and they tore up the bugs. A few pictures:

OK, first the bad news – 10 days into gag grouper season, and I haven’t nailed a keeper. Yet. A few shorts, a few brutes that rocked up and cut me off, a few caught by other anglers, but no grouper nuggets for me. Yet….

But, still plenty of fresh fish each weekend. The Pass-A-Grille and St. Pete Beach mangrove snapper season continues to heat up. My brother and I caught over 100 last weekend, mostly 8-10 inches, but enough 12″+ fish for a two person limit. All you need is a good tide. Incoming or outgoing, doesn’t matter. Morning, mid-day, evening, doesn’t matter. As long as the tide is flowing, the snapper are biting. Live shrimp are the best bet, and they rarely last more than a few seconds once they reach the schooling fish. Small pinfish and greenbacks are the ticket for the larger fish. And, strangely, there are still flounder around! I saw three keepers, to 15″ within a 60 minute span Saturday. Snook are around, too.

Meanwhile, a shout out to Captain Greg Doherty, a Tampa Fishing Guide  and USCG licensed captain. If you’re looking to book a charter, give him a call!

It looks to be a banner year for mangrove snapper fishing in the south Pinellas area. The have taken up residence at every structure – bridges, jetty’s, docks, piers, rockpiles – you name, there’s snapper on it. And they are running pretty big, considering it’s only mid- June. By late fall, there may be some monsters (well, inshore ‘monsters’, anyway).

My brother Allen and I hit the Merry Pier in Pass-A-Grille on Sunday morning. The tide was running pretty strong, and outgoing. We tossed live shrimp up under the dock in the first three finger slips, using 30 lb fluorocarbon leaders, 1/4 oz slip sinkers and size 2 circle hooks. Action was fast and furious – as soon as the shrimp hit the bottom (and sometimes sooner), the fish were on it. Most were in the 8 to 10 inch range, but when we got one a foot or longer, into the cooler it went. When the tide began to slow, we moved to the end of the pier – and so did the snapper. They sure like fast moving water. We ended up going through about 15 dozen shrimp, caught at least 70-80 snapper, and kept our two person limit. Good eating!

Other reports include occasional flounder; trout and snook at Blind Pass (including a 38″ brute caught Thursday); stray redfish here and there; lots of macks and ladyfish anywhere the bait is thick and the water is clear; and a few sheepshead, although nobody’s really targeting them.

Offshore, fishing is on fire! Miss Pass-A-Grille has been coming back loaded every trip. My friend Neal had a great adventure on the 39 hour trip out of John’s Pass, and he brought back a cooler full, including this beautiful American Red Snapper:

With June in full swing, mornings and evenings are the ticket for St. Petersburg area fishing. Looks like Sunday will have a decent outgoing tide early in the day, so I’ll be targeting snapper. If I manage an early limit (quite likely), it’ll be time to sling a big pinfish into the deeper, faster water in search of sharks, cobia or tarpon. I stopped at Blind Pass yesterday for a couple minutes, and managed a nice sea trout on a jig.

After 10 very long months in the desert, I am back on the Beach and fishing again! I have made it down to Merry Pier a couple times, and the fishing is starting to heat up. The mangrove snapper are thick under the dock and boathouse, and 5 fish limits of the tasty foot long fish have been pretty easy on live shrimp. Closer to the seawall, the snook are lined up facing the outgoing tide, and a freelined jumbo shrimp is just the ticket. Bait is plentiful and large under and around the pier, and there are plenty of mackerel, jacks and ladyfish lurking. I have seen some really large stingrays caught, and a few anglers have been nailed by SOMETHING big in the deeper water – probably sharks or cobia. No sign of the tarpon yet, although they should be around. Still a few stray grouper and flounder, but not worth targeting. Stay tuned – I should be providing weekly updates again.

Still in Arizona, so I missed the traditional Fall flounder run in St. Pete Beach. But my sources tell me it was another banner year, with dozens of flatties caught daily. Most were over the 12″ minimum, and a few were over 24″. I’m hoping to be back in Florida for Spring fishing…

I have spent most of the summer in Arizona. Not many fish there, but plenty of rattlesnakes. I finally got to spend a little time fishing in Pass-A-Grille this weekend, and the fishing was GOOD! Plenty of small snapper, with a few keepers mixed in. There were a few flounder around, but they were way too small.  But the grouper were there! After I lost a monster on Saturday, I returned Sunday determined to catch it. I landed a 15″ red grouper using frozen sardines, then a 21 and 1/2″ that was safely released. Then came the BIG hit – this fish was taking drag, and I had the drag way tight. 80 lb test braid, 80 lb test leader, and a 7/0 circle hook – and I was glad I was rigged heavy. The fish still managed to rock me up, and 15 minutes later, it wouldn’t budge. In desperation, I tried the old trick of strumming on the line like a banjo string. Sure enough, after a minute or so the fish bolted, and the fight was back on. Thanks to skillful net work from my friend Joe, I landed a 29″ gag grouper – my biggest so far from Merry Pier!

29" Gag Grouper

Red Grouper from a Dock!

The Summer Mangos are Back!

That is One Big Gag Grouper!

And, if You Don't Catch Any, You Can Shop at the Merry Pier Fish Market. Queen Snapper Last Week!