Clearwater Beach Fishing Reports (May 2026)

Tyson Wallerstein
Clearwater, Florida
Reported: 3 months ago

Shallow water fishing has been excellent in Clearwater this winter. Huge trout and big redfish are the targets. Top water action early in the day has brought several trout in the plus 20 inch class to the net. Rapala skitter v's worked through the mullet schools will not only attract...

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Tyson Wallerstein Clearwater, Florida Reported: 3 months ago

Shallow water fishing has been excellent in Clearwater this winter. Huge trout and big redfish are the targets. Top water action early in the day has brought several trout in the plus 20 inch class to the net. Rapala skitter v's worked through the mullet schools will not only attract the attention of the trout but also the redfish. This is the time of year that the big trout move into the super shallows and this year is the best we've seen in many years.

Tailing redfish have been spooky but catchable during the first half of the incoming tide. Soft plastic baits like the Z-man jerk shadz tipped with pro- cure scent are working well with the right cast and the right approach.

Lots of schoolie trout can be caught in the slightly deeper water just off the shallow flats. 1/8 ounce jig heads with a Z-man jerk shadz catch em all day long. Making them easy targets in the 25' sea hunt if you have a larger crew.

Redfish have also been caught in the sea hunt this month. Top of the tide is the time to soak some fresh baits for redfish hanging in the mullet schools.

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Ethan Hamrick
Largo, Florida
Reported: 3 months ago

\Lots of redfish, sheepshead and seatrout inshore. While nearshore the hogfish and gag grouper bite has been great!

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Ethan Hamrick Largo, Florida Reported: 3 months ago

\Lots of redfish, sheepshead and seatrout inshore. While nearshore the hogfish and gag grouper bite has been great!

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Nick Halenkamp
Clearwater, Florida
Reported: 3 months ago

Black drum and sheepshead bite is heating up. Lots of small reds, nearshore mangrove snappers and grunts, with occasional hogfish

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Nick Halenkamp Clearwater, Florida Reported: 3 months ago

Black drum and sheepshead bite is heating up. Lots of small reds, nearshore mangrove snappers and grunts, with occasional hogfish

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Mike Colby
Clearwater, Florida
Reported: 4 months ago

Hogfish are biting!

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Mike Colby Clearwater, Florida Reported: 4 months ago

Hogfish are biting!

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Jim Vanderbeck
Clearwater, Florida
Reported: 9 months ago

Red grouper, red snapper, Mango snapper and lane snapper are on fire in 100+ feet! Sharks are everywhere and you have to move around a lot but filling the box every trip!

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Jim Vanderbeck Clearwater, Florida Reported: 9 months ago

Red grouper, red snapper, Mango snapper and lane snapper are on fire in 100+ feet! Sharks are everywhere and you have to move around a lot but filling the box every trip!

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Jim Vanderbeck
Clearwater, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

Red grouper bite has been solid in 100 feet. Silver trout are out of control on the beaches, as well as redfish!

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Jim Vanderbeck Clearwater, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

Red grouper bite has been solid in 100 feet. Silver trout are out of control on the beaches, as well as redfish!

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Tyson Wallerstein
Clearwater, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

Artic air early this week will certainly cool off what’s been a hot wintertime bite. Unseasonably warm water temperatures over the past couple of weeks have helped to get all inshore fish moving around better, especially snook. A good snook bite can be hard to come by this time of...

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Tyson Wallerstein Clearwater, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

Artic air early this week will certainly cool off what’s been a hot wintertime bite. Unseasonably warm water temperatures over the past couple of weeks have helped to get all inshore fish moving around better, especially snook. A good snook bite can be hard to come by this time of year. however they are opportunists and if conditions are right they can feed aggressively especially in the afternoon. Redfish are much more cold tolerant than the snook and can be found shadowing mullet schools in both the Intercoastal waterway as well as the expansive flats of Tampa Bay. Target the first half of the incoming tide for redfish right now. The lower water will make it easier to spot the mullet schools and in turn put you where you need to be for the redfish. Chunk baits such as ladyfish and mullet work excellent under these conditions, allowing you to make extremely long casts to comfortable fish. Scaled sardines a.k.a. pilchards can still be cast netted in volume most days and have been the ticket for getting the snook fired up. The bait has moved deeper and can often be found near the bay bridges in deeper dredge holes. Look for high diving pelicans to give the bait away, typically the higher they dive the bigger the bait. Snook have been willing to creep out of backwater creeks over the last several days, but don’t expect them to venture too far from their safe zone. Target mangrove shoreline’s that have small feeder creeks along them on the later portion of the afternoon incoming tide

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Gage Brady
New Port Richey, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

We have a red snapper season Nov 18th to Jan 1st !

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Gage Brady New Port Richey, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

We have a red snapper season Nov 18th to Jan 1st !

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