St Petersburg Port Weather Forecast
Fishing reports straight from our guides in St Petersburg Port
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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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...
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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...
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...
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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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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The nearshore bite been really good, hogfish, kingfish, Cobia and Bonita. Depending on the weather.
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Redfish schools have showed up been pretty consistent with larger redfish being caught with snook mixed in on each trip.
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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...
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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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Katie and crew!
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Water temps in the bay are dropping so the fish are eating like crazy. Starting to have that really good fall time bite! Big predator fish like reds and snook have worked their way in from offshore and the beaches back to the mangroves and flats. The mangrove snapper migration is also in full swing and they're everywhere on the shallow water wrecks and reefs in the bay.
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