Old Tampa Bay Fishing Reports (December 2025)

Jim Vanderbeck
Clearwater, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

Offshore red grouper and red snapper are everywhere. Amberjack showing up in large numbers on every reef. Inshore or near shore kingfish and Spanish mackerel or abundant back in the Creeks black drum are dominant

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Jim Vanderbeck Clearwater, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

Offshore red grouper and red snapper are everywhere. Amberjack showing up in large numbers on every reef. Inshore or near shore kingfish and Spanish mackerel or abundant back in the Creeks black drum are dominant

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Andrew Crabtree
St. Petersburg, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

The fishing is full swing here in Tampa Bay, haven't heard much from your booking service in a while just making sure yall are still active! I have been getting some trips from the other service but yours has been my favorite to use honestly... will shoot over a few...

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Andrew Crabtree St. Petersburg, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

The fishing is full swing here in Tampa Bay, haven't heard much from your booking service in a while just making sure yall are still active! I have been getting some trips from the other service but yours has been my favorite to use honestly... will shoot over a few pics from recent trips, but the spring has sprung and we have been catching snook, trout, redfish, mackerel etc... firing off in Tampa Bay! Thank you, Capt Andrew

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Roy Johnson
St. Petersburg, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

Fish were biting good this week on the high outgoing tide. I was fishing around structure. Using 1/4 oz jig heads tip with live shrimp. We were catching redfish, trout, snapper, sheepshead, black drum and a few snook.

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Roy Johnson St. Petersburg, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

Fish were biting good this week on the high outgoing tide. I was fishing around structure. Using 1/4 oz jig heads tip with live shrimp. We were catching redfish, trout, snapper, sheepshead, black drum and a few snook.

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Phil Pegley
Ruskin, Florida
Reported: 1 year 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: 1 year 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: 1 year 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: 1 year 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: 1 year 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: 1 year 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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Jim Vanderbeck
Clearwater, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

Docks and canals are where the reds, blacks, and sheep's are!!

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Jim Vanderbeck Clearwater, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

Docks and canals are where the reds, blacks, and sheep's are!!

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Ray Culver
Seminole, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

The nearshore bite been really good, hogfish, kingfish, Cobia and Bonita. Depending on the weather.

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Ray Culver Seminole, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

The nearshore bite been really good, hogfish, kingfish, Cobia and Bonita. Depending on the weather.

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