Water temperatures brought down into the low 60s during a cold front are on the rebound thanks to numerous warm sunny days. With more warm days to come, and spring’s March 20 arrival around the corner, the flats fishing from Tampa Bay southward is bound to heat up.
Snook are creeping back into the shallow flats to warm up in the sun and feed after a long winter. Live baits and artificials are working to trigger intense strikes and lengthy battles with the linesiders.
Redfish are foraging in aquatic terrains, including oyster bars, shoreline mangroves and dock pilings. Live shrimp and shiners work well for bait, but don’t rule out soft plastics on a jig head when fishing shallow flats peppered with sandy potholes.
As for spotted seatrout, deep grass flats adjacent to channel edges are holding impressive numbers of the popular bucked-tooth fish. And, with a mix of ladyfish and Spanish mackerel interrupting the trout bite, you can bet on some thrills on light spinning gear.
Fishing along the Gulf beaches is hot and then it’s not. Try to fish on days when the waters are clean and clear, because on the days when the waters are stirred up from wind and waves, the bite has been minimal.
Moving into the Gulf to fish the wrecks, reefs and ledges is good for folks with a fish fry in mind. Key west grunts and lane snapper are being caught with ease, while lucky anglers also are hooking into hogfish and mangrove snapper.
Moving offshore into depths of 100-plus feet of water is yielding some big old “fire truck” red groupers.
By the way, snook season opened March 1 and will remain open through the end of April with a bag limit of one fish per person and the fish must measure 28-33 inches.
On my Just Reel charters I’m seeing an increase in the bite as the water temps rise after the last cold front.
Spotted seatrout are stacked on the deeper flats with a mix of ladyfish and Spanish mackerel to add some variety to the bite.
I’m finding big trout on the shallower flats during the afternoon hours. Most of the shallow-water trout are too big to keep as they are over the maximum 19 inches. In fact, I’ve seen several in the 24-inch range come to the boat.
Snook fishing is going well during the warmer parts of the day. Many become frisky as the water temps creep out of the upper 60s into the low 70s. For the snook and trout, swift moving incoming tides are producing the best action.
Also, I’m picking up a few redfish while targeting snook along the mangrove shoreline.
Capt. David White is working inshore around the waters in southern Tampa Bay southward to Sarasota Bay. Fishing the flats is starting to turn on again and White is putting clients on good numbers of fish. He says the snook fishing is quite good on warmer days between the cold fronts.
Spotted seatrout are being cooperative, especially during swift-moving tides when White is finding redfish for his anglers in various spots, especially during the afternoon hours.
Lastly, pompano are being caught on the jig while drifting deep grass flats and along the beaches and passes.
Capt. Johnny Mattay also is pleased with the inshore bite around Anna Maria Island. Redfish are frequently being caught at an assortment of spots, including docks, mangroves and oyster bars. Many catches are in the slot of 18-27 inches, with some over-slot fish mixed in.
Snook fishing is going well for Mattay, too, with many catches for his anglers while baiting with live shiners.
And don’t forget about spotted seatrout. Drifting deeper flats and fresh-caught bait is resulting in limits of trout as well as a mix of macks.
Moving offshore, Mattay says targeting red grouper and a variety of snappers is yielding plenty of fish for the cooler.
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