Fish of the Week
King Mackerel: It’s that time of year and the kingfish bite has turned on for Tampa Bay area anglers in both offshore and nearshore waters. Good numbers of Spanish mackerel are also in the mix.
Strike Zone, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7
1: At Big Pier 60 in Clearwater, sheepshead are still bighting down around the pilings. Good numbers of white grunts, mangrove snapper and speckled trout have been caught this week. The Spanish mackerel bite it getting better by the day. A few black sea bass have also been caught, along with the occasional lane snapper and usual sharks, reports Big Pier 60 Bait & Tackle (727-462-6466).
2: At Madeira Beach, nearshore the hogfish bite is still pretty good starting at a depth of around 30 feet. There’s also a lot of lane and mangrove snapper, along with some red grouper on the bottom. Spanish mackerel, mixed in with some kingfish, are also plentiful near the surface. Deeper offshore, big red grouper, porgies, almaco jacks, along with big mangroves and some vermillion snapper are biting. Pelagic anglers are catching big kingfish and blackfin tuna, reports Capt. Dylan Hubbard of Hubbard’s Marina (727-393-1947).
3: At John's Pass, sheepshead are still biting around structure and the bridge pilings. More and more mangrove snapper are moving in each day in the same areas. More and more snook are being caught inside the pass as well. Redfish are biting around the docks in the pass and the islands inside the back bays. Speckled trout are biting around the dock lights at night, from the jetty and nearby surf during the day. Good numbers of pompano, Spanish mackerel, black drum and whiting are also being caught from the jetty and the nearby surf, reports Hubbard.
4: At Fort De Soto Park, sheepshead are still biting around the marina, the seawall and the bridge. More mangrove snapper are moving in around the same areas. Some juvenile tarpon are also biting around the bridge and the Tierra Verde area. East Beach is producing good catches of speckled trout on live shrimp. A few snook are also biting there. The redfish bite is good on the area flats and along the mangrove lines. The pier is producing sheepshead around the pilings and a few Spanish mackerel up top on live bait and spoons. Nearshore, there’s a lot of bait and a few kingfish and Spanish mackerel in the mix along the Egmont Channel and on the reefs, reports the Bait Bucket (727-864-2108).
5: Around the Sunshine Skyway and lower Tampa Bay, springtime fishing is in full effect and just about as good as it gets in both inshore and nearshore waters. Snook seem to be around every corner and under every mangrove bush. Terra Ceia and Miguel Bay along with the “Pines” area around Robinson Preserve are all holding some good size snook with some redfish mixed in. Speckled trout fishing has been very good in 5 to 7 feet of water all over lower Tampa Bay. Nearshore the kingfish have shown up very well in 30 to 50 feet of water. Look for birds working the surface and bump troll live threadfin herring or large scaled sardines. Once you find the school you can set up and live chum them, reports Capt. Shawn Crawford of Florida Sport Fishing Outfitters. (941-705-3160).
6: At Anna Maria, the kingfish bite is good off Anna Maria Island. The fish are holding in about 30 to 40 feet of water around hard bottom and the artificial reefs. Inshore, snook and redfish are all over the flats. The mouth of the Manatee River is loaded with fish. Snook are moving out to the passes and a few have already moved out to the beaches. There’s good speckled trout action on the deeper grass flats in the sound. A few sheepshead are more and more mangrove snapper are biting around the bridges and structure, reports Crawford.
7: At St. Petersburg, the nearshore bite is taking off, with plenty of Spanish mackerel and kingfish are being caught inside a depth of 30 feet of water. Trolling the Egmont shipping channel near bait schools with trolling lures like the Rapala X-Rap in the blue sardine pattern will produce. The Skyway fishing piers may also produce kingfish with a big live baits such as ladyfish and threadfin herring, reports Capt. Neill Holland of GoFishTampaBay.com (727-200-7781).
8: In the north end of Tampa Bay, there’s a few Spanish mackerel in the upper bay. Better numbers of mangrove snapper are biting around the bridge and there’s still a few sheephead biting as well. The snook bite has picked up on most of the flats and around the bridge approaches. The upper bay is good for redfish on cut bait. Weedon Island and Fourth Street are also good for redfish. Some tarpon are showing up around the bridges in the evenings, reports Gandy Bait & Tackle (813-839-5551).
Elsewhere
- At hom*osassa, look for speckled trout to be in water 3 to 4 feet deep on the rocky spots along the nearshore bays. Soft plastic MirrOlure Provokers in pearl color on a chartreuse 1/8 oz. jig head have been getting the bite.The redfish bite has been good south of the river on the last hour of incoming tides. Shrimp under a cork have been the most productive bait while drifted across the points or down the edges of the keys. If you see any mullet, there will be better numbers of redfish. The Incoming tide will be mid-morning this weekend, reports Capt. William Toney of hom*osassa Inshore Fishing Charters (352-621-9284).
- At Fort Pierce, offshore, a decent amount of mutton snapper in the 8- to 10-pound range are biting on the bottom in the 80-foot range. Mangrove and lane snapper, along with triggerfish are also in the mix. Some cobia are biting up top at the same depth. Mahi are biting on the weed lines from 120 to 20 feet. Big jack crevalle are being caught at the 20- to 30-foot mark. At the inlet, whiting, croaker and a few pompano are biting in the surf. Inside the inlet and along the jetty, there’s a good snook bite during the day on live baits. A few of the big jacks are also biting in the inlet and around the bridges. Black drum, sheepshead and mangrove snapper are also biting around the bridges. The Melody Lane Pier is producing steady catches of sand perch, reports Clint Walker at the Fishing Center of St. Lucie (772-465-7637).
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Saltwater: Kingfish biting in Tampa Bay both offshore, nearshore
