http://www.tampabay.com/sports/outdoors/Captain-s-Corner-North-Pinellas-action-ready-to-take-off_166967605
Stable weather ahead will bring an explosion of action in north Pinellas. We are already seeing an increase in bait which always brings action to the flats and the nearshore regions. Redfish are more plentiful, schooling near the mullet schools and pushing into the mangroves on high tides. To find redfish, I skip cut baits under the overhanging mangrove limbs and wait for a bite. Move along every couple of minutes until a bite comes. Then chum that area heavily, concentrating the fish to that section. In areas without heavy mangrove cover, look for “salt and pepper” bottoms, random potholes with a shelly and rocky texture. Redfish root around for small crabs and snails in those types of areas. Snook are creeping toward the beaches, gathering at the islands lining the Intracoastal. Canals and mouths of the bays and creeks along the mainshore are still holding the majority, but they will move out more quickly with the warm forecast ahead. Snook are eager to eat early in the season, preparing for the spawn throughout summer. Live sardines, threadfins and pinfish are all excellent baits for snook. Trout are still holding in St. Joseph Sound. They will soon migrate toward the beaches and even offshore a couple of miles. Often we hook trout while chumming for mackerel and kingfish in 20 feet of water. Kingfish are showing up in that 20-foot range, following large schools of threadfins. Slow trolling baits for an hour or so resulted in a few hookups lately. This is a good morning routine to allow the tide to rise inshore for targeting reds and snook on the flats.
Brian Caudill fishes from Clearwater to Tarpon Springs. He can be reached at (727) 365-7560 and captbrian.com.
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