Tampa bay/St. Pete Beach

Hello Everyone! The fishing in our area for the past month has been absolutely fantastic! Nearly every species is available and there is simply not enough time to get to them all. There redfish and large trout on the flats, grouper, door mat flounder and cobia around deeper structure in the bay, and a whole list of fast moving and aggressive migratory species following bait pods down the coast. If you like  a variety of action and lots of it, this is the time of year for you. The main bite that I have been targeting is the “Bait Run Blitz” just off of the beach. It can be absolute mayhem out there as literally thousands of fish of all different species push have a feeding frenzy on baitfish schools as they migrate down the beach. There are massive droves of spanish mackerel, jacks, bluefish, ladyfish, and bonita terrorizing bait pods up and down the coast and in the bay. All you have to do is run the beach near a main channel and look for huge flocks of birds diving on baitfish that have been pushed to the surface by all of the activity. With all of this action, larger predatory fish like kingfish, blacktip sharks, “bull” redfish, tarpon, big jacks, and cobia have been drawn into the activity. The action is explosive and intense once the bait is located!!! Redfish and larger trout are grouping up in the shallows and becoming more active through the day as water temps cool off a bit. Larger redfish will become more numerous as the water continues to cool. we have been catching both species on topwater plugs, live bait, cut bait, and spoons. Around deeper structure with some current, we have been getting slammed by keeper grouper and big snook along with a few large flounder and cobia. Put a large live bait in the zone and hold on tight! All of this sort of activity will continue for the next few weeks until the water temps stabilize in the 60’s pushing the baitfish out of the area. After that happens, spectacular sightfishing awaits all winter long. Tight lines