Tampa Bay is in peak tarpon season, and the fish are everywhere from the beaches to the Skyway. Add beach snook, mangrove snapper in the passes, and trout on the deeper grass, and there is plenty to do before the daily storms roll in off the Gulf. Early mornings have been calm and productive.
What’s Hitting
Tarpon are the main event, rolling along the beaches, in the ship channel, and around the Skyway pilings. Snook are stacked on the beaches and in the passes (closed season — release them). Mangrove snapper have moved into the passes and around the bridges in good numbers, and spotted seatrout are biting on the deeper grass flats. Spanish mackerel and the odd cobia are working the bait pods.
Where to Find Them
Work the beaches from Anna Maria up through Pass-a-Grille at first light for tarpon and snook tracking bait. The Skyway pilings and ship channel hold tarpon on the tides. Mangrove snapper are in the passes — Bunces, Pass-a-Grille, and around the bridge pilings. For trout, fish the four- to seven-foot grass flats off the Pinellas and Manatee shorelines with the tide moving.
Tides & Conditions
Tarpon respond to the stronger tides, and the beach bite is best in the calm early morning before the sea breeze. Snapper fishing improves on moving water around the bridges and passes. Afternoon thunderstorms are a daily feature, so get out early. Water is warm in the mid-80s and the flats can get hot and still by midday. Watch for nervous bait and rolling fish at first light; the cleanest beach water and the calmest surface come in the hour before the sea breeze fills in.
Tackle & Tactics
Live threadfins, pinfish, and crabs are the tarpon staples; fish 50- to 60-pound fluoro and circle hooks. Snook on the beach eat small white jigs and live baits cast ahead of cruising fish. For snapper, light fluoro and live shrimp around structure. Trout want popping corks with shrimp or soft plastics worked over the grass.
This Week’s Tip
When you spot tarpon strung out along the beach at first light, lead them — cast well ahead of a moving school and let the bait sit in their path rather than throwing right on top of them. A bait dropped on their heads scatters the whole pod; a bait waiting quietly in their lane gets eaten.