Bartow Fishing Reports (May 2026)

Nick Halenkamp
Clearwater, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

Nearshore bite has mackerel, cobia, groupers pushing shallow. Inshore reds and snook are getting fired up.

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Nick Halenkamp Clearwater, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

Nearshore bite has mackerel, cobia, groupers pushing shallow.
Inshore reds and snook are getting fired up.

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Phil Pegley
Ruskin, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

Fall and early winter fishing fishing here in Tampa Bay is truly a great time to get out there This year was no exception. The redfish bite had been hot all summer, and carried right on into the fall with numbers and big fish as well, transitional fishing for Snook...

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Phil Pegley Ruskin, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

Fall and early winter fishing fishing here in Tampa Bay is truly a great time to get out there This year was no exception. The redfish bite had been hot all summer, and carried right on into the fall with numbers and big fish as well, transitional fishing for Snook was also strong as the air and water temps fluctuated, dropping with each front, and then warming again. It created some great opportunities for site fishing for Cobia, and brought the speckled trout into their cooler water haunts. The water has been crystal clear and catching bait has still been plentiful setting up for an awesome January hit me up and let's get out there . tight lines until next time

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Wade Osborne
Tampa, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

El Nino has had a major impact on our weather patterns lately, and I don’t expect it to change anytime soon. The worst part is that it seems to rain mostly on the weekends. This El Nino weather system also causes a huge fluctuation in temperatures. We’ve been getting two...

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Wade Osborne Tampa, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

El Nino has had a major impact on our weather patterns lately, and I don’t expect it to change anytime soon. The worst part is that it seems to rain mostly on the weekends. This El Nino weather system also causes a huge fluctuation in temperatures. We’ve been getting two to three days of a cold front out of the north and El Nino pushes right back with the same out of the south.
What does this have to do with fishing, everything!
First off, catching baitfish can be difficult to nearly impossible. Cold water temperatures push baitfish into deeper water and around structure, like bridge pilings and range markers. Even on a relatively clam day catching baitfish in the winter can be challenging, add 15-20 knot winds and fuhgeddaboudit. I’ve been stopping at my local bait shop and buying medium-size shrimp lately just in case I can’t catch any baitfish before my charter. So far, that’s only happened once, but fortunately we caught plenty of fish anyway using only shrimp. Everything in Tampa Bay will eat a shrimp. That’s why it’s called the “Sara Lee” of baits.
Sheepshead especially like shrimp and they are very active right now. Most anglers think of sheepshead as living only around dock and bridge pilings, but they also hang out in deep sandy pot poles and around drop offs along mangroves. The latter are the two main areas that I prefer to pursue them. Fishing for sheepshead in the back bays has its advantages. Not only does it give you a better opportunity at catching other species of fish, but it can also give you shelter from the wind.
Just like chumming with baitfish activates fish, so does chumming with shrimp. That’s why at the end of the day, I never throw out my leftover live shrimp. I always bag and freeze it for my next charter. The next day when I’m running a charter and I arrive at my first fishing spot, I pull out a bag and start chumming the area with pieces of shrimp. Doing so draws in redfish. seatrout, ladyfish, jack crevalle and occasionally snook.
One thing that I always tell people is winter fishing can be very inconsistent and rewarding at the same time. No two days are ever the same, but if you keep an open mind and not be hell bent on catching only big fish, you can have a good outing.

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Cody Beckman
Tampa, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

Cold weather has the redfish, snook and trout fired up! Water clarity is improving and water temps are dropping in the bay so sight casting big redfish and snook in shallow water is awesome right now. Big tides and prime water temps have our big predatory fish active and eating...

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Cody Beckman Tampa, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

Cold weather has the redfish, snook and trout fired up! Water clarity is improving and water temps are dropping in the bay so sight casting big redfish and snook in shallow water is awesome right now. Big tides and prime water temps have our big predatory fish active and eating all day. 30-40 fish per trip right now is the norm so inshore fishing is on fire right now.

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Steve Niemoeller with Lake Toho Fishing Guide Service
St. Cloud, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

With the weather changing, the fish are also going into their predawn mode, and some are spawning already. Bass fishing has been great with live bait and some artificial, and crappie fishing is also starting to get good with the water cooling down. We have pontoons for small and large...

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Steve Niemoeller with Lake Toho Fishing Guide Service St. Cloud, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

With the weather changing, the fish are also going into their predawn mode, and some are spawning already. Bass fishing has been great with live bait and some artificial, and crappie fishing is also starting to get good with the water cooling down. We have pontoons for small and large groups, and handicapped folks are always welcome! We also have bass boats to fish from

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Steve Niemoeller with Lake Toho Fishing Guide Service
St. Cloud, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

Few pics from last few days ! Fishing has been great

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Steve Niemoeller with Lake Toho Fishing Guide Service St. Cloud, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

Few pics from last few days ! Fishing has been great

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Phil Pegley
Ruskin, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

Our trip to Key West to end the hot Florida summer was as advertised this year's experience was graced with beautiful weather conditions light winds in Clear waters is what Key West dreams are made of .we really had some excellent trips offshore with our main focus being on the...

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Phil Pegley Ruskin, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

Our trip to Key West to end the hot Florida summer was as advertised this year's experience was graced with beautiful weather conditions light winds in Clear waters is what Key West dreams are made of .we really had some excellent trips offshore with our main focus being on the mahi mahi. Snapper fishing on the reef was outstanding, especially around the full a new moon. The lobster season in Key West has always been very good and this year was no different. We were able to get limit catches on numerous trips. We love to play with the tarpon while we are down there as well. They have a great tarpon, fish or a year-round. I hope you can join us next year from late July through August, so tight lines until next time Captain Phil

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Cody Beckman
Tampa, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

Inshore bites still been on fire lots of big snook around and redfish school staring to show up in the bay

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Cody Beckman Tampa, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

Inshore bites still been on fire lots of big snook around and redfish school staring to show up in the bay

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