The Tampa Bay Times
Fairly stable weather had allowed tremendous success this past week in northern Pinellas county. A small front is moving through now and high winds will settle in for a few days. The water should remain in the mid to upper 60s keeping the trout and redfish active. The trout bite steadily diminished as the front approached, mostly due to water clarity and rough conditions. However, the redfishing has improved significantly. The shallower waters the redfish inhabit are less likely to be torn up and become muddy. Staging upwind from mullet schools approaching the shoreline has paid off in recent trips. Cut baits placed into sandy potholes have produced snook, redfish and trout as the mullet schools approach the mangrove shorelines. As the tide continues to rise and flood the mangrove roots, the redfish have been schooling in a few areas behind the barrier islands. I will often move slowly along the root system until I see a couple of fish and then slowly ease out and fan cast cut baits in that direction, skipping them as far under the mangroves as possible. Snook have also begun to transition towards the west from the main shoreline. We have hooked several snook using the same redfishing method. Nearshore fishing has also turned on recently with the return of kingfish within 7 – 8 miles offshore. Threadfins slowly trolled have worked best. Spanish mackerel are showing up closer to shore within 3 – 5 miles, and the mangrove snapper bite still strong on the nearshore reefs and ledges.
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