Inshore Report
The sheepshead bite around the area is going super well we are seeing big sheepshead and active numbers around local area structures period sheepshead love any hard growth around docks piers bridges jetties rock piles and anything that would allow for barnacles Clams or oysters to grow. To target sheepshead, you want lighter tackle around 15-to-20-pound liter. Minimal weight is best typically a split shot or a very small egg sinker, smaller hooks as well, they have a very small mouth around 1 to #1 hook. However, they have a strong mouth, so you want to balance the hook size with also strength making sure the hook will not break when you hook a nice sheepshead. For bait we typically utilize small pieces of live shrimp or fresh dead shrimp. You can also use cut clams or oysters. Barnacles and fiddler crabs are also popular options when targeting sheepshead.
Trout fishing is going well around the area the trout love this cooler weather and they typically get more aggressive. We are seeing trout most active around those Sandy or mangrove shorelines shallower grass flats and areas of moving water where the bait is most concentrated. We are even seeing a few trout around our dock lines especially residential dock lines where there is some dark Bay mud and some good moving water. We are seeing the most trout at night around dock lights and bridge lights too some local passes. Trout this time of year are really liking to the live shrimp, but they will take the live white bait as well. Trout are a little bit more leader shy than most. Lighter tackle is always a good approach when targeting trout. Trout also have a very soft mouth so lighter action rods so often nowadays people are using super fast action heavy duty rods that will often pull the bait away from a trout or make it difficult to hook and successfully land some trout with their super soft mouse slow action soft rods are key to target trout successfully.
Redfish action has been hot for local area anglers fishing around those residential dock lines and residential canals. Especially later in the afternoon once the sun has had a chance to sun bake a sea wall line it will get those red fish feeding a bit more actively. Redfish are looking for those areas that are holding plenty of crustaceans like small crabs and live shrimp. So, a good mix of some good sunlight and warmer water and crustacean activity is a good area to hold those red fish and find plenty. We are also seeing red fish still following those schools of mullet around local grass flats you can find them on oyster bars especially once the sun is out and sun baking those hard bottom areas.
The sheepshead bite around the area is going super well we are seeing big sheepshead and active numbers around local area structures period sheepshead love any hard growth around docks piers bridges jetties rock piles and anything that would allow for barnacles Clams or oysters to grow. To target sheepshead, you want lighter tackle around 15-to-20-pound liter. Minimal weight is best typically a split shot or a very small egg sinker, smaller hooks as well, they have a very small mouth around 1 to #1 hook. However, they have a strong mouth, so you want to balance the hook size with also strength making sure the hook will not break when you hook a nice sheepshead. For bait we typically utilize small pieces of live shrimp or fresh dead shrimp. You can also use cut clams or oysters. Barnacles and fiddler crabs are also popular options when targeting sheepshead.
Black drum have been active around the area especially at Bay Area bridges big dock structures and sometimes around mangrove shorelines. We are seeing those big black drum going after the big live shrimp or the crabs on the bottom. These guys cruise the bottom looking for big crustaceans and easy meals.
Jack Crevalle have been super active in the morning around the Back Bay waters especially around the mouth of the headwaters of John’s pass like long Bayou, but we see it in creeks and rivers and bayous throughout the area and a lot of upper Bay grass flat areas especially early morning jacks are chasing bait. We sometimes see them push into canals where they can school update and make them easier to target. While many people do not regard them as great table fare Jack crevalle make a fun catch and give you plenty of fight. They are also easy to spot often the birds will give them away because the jacks will drive the bait to the surface and get the birds actively feeding around the jacks.
Whiting and silver trout have been active around our beaches we are seeing a lot of Whiting and silver trout caught right now around the surf and off our beautiful local beaches. Beach fishing Piers like big pier 60 and the golf pier at Fort DeSoto the rod and reel pier at Anna Maria are good areas to look for the Whiting and silver trout if you do not want to surf fish the beach. Silver trout or a lot like speckled trout they are looking for soft plastics or live shrimp. Whiting is less picky they will take anything from squid to shrimp.
Nearshore Report
Hogfish action is going well around the area near shore. We are seeing the hogfish from 30 to 70 foot of water feeding actively on lighter tackle and live shrimp. Hogfish action remains good through spring if water temperatures are down when it is cooler those hog fish are congregated and feeding aggressively. We typically target hogfish most often on our 10 hour all day and a few are caught on the five-hour half day too. The private fishing charters are a great way to really get on top of the hogfish or going out with your boat or your buddies boat targeting those smaller relief areas large areas of Hard Rock bottom or areas where their shell and lots of sea fans are good for hogfish havens. We catch most hogfish on lime shrimp and around 30-pound liters with about a three to four odd hook. However, people will use rock shrimp sand flea’s fiddler crabs and all with great success.
The gag grouper fishing has been going well near shore and even into Tampa Bay around the shipping channel, but gag grouper fishing is about to come to an end end of day December 31st. Once gag grouper fishing closes red grouper fishing reopens.
We are excited for red grouper to reopen January 1st at 12:01 AM. We are going back out there to target and catch a large number of red groupers that have been waiting for us since they closed earlier than expected. The red grouper bite is going well deeper near shore. While we see a lot of red groupers in all the near shore waters it is hard to find keeper red grouper in the shallower near shore water you have to really sort through a lot of undersized fish to get to a keeper. Remember when fishing for red grouper especially near shore be prepared with proper tools like a dehooker or a fish extractor to make sure you can get those undersized fish dehooker quickly back in the water quickly with as little damage as possible to make sure they’re able to grow and be a keeper size fish for you to harvest in the future.
 Along with the red grouper the lane snapper fishing will reopen once again January 1st as well we are looking forward to getting back after the lane snapper and catching plenty as the fishing is going super well near shore and they really are large and concentrated near shore! Lane snapper love Live shrimp cut threadfin and even cut squid. We catch lane snapper frequently on all near shore fishing trips from the party boats to the private charters they are super prolific and aggressive.
 So, after January 1st gag grouper might close but will have plenty of hogfish red grouper and lane snapper all to target with the occasional big mangrove snapper mixed in mangrove snapper fishing has been going well near shore. Mangroves love live shrimp primarily, but we often catch them on the small chunks of threadfin using the double snail rig just kind of pare it down to a smaller size compared to when we fish for mangrove snapper offshore and deeper water. Surprisingly near shore this past week we have encountered a lot of Spanish mackerel ½ day trip caught almost 35 keeper Spanish mackerel while Bottom fishing with squid and shrimp. We have not really been trolling assuming most of the mackerel had vacated but it is clear that there are still plentiful mackerel around the near shore waters in certain pockets.
Offshore Report
The gag grouper has been the focused offshore but with gag grouper closing at the end of the year our focus will shift to deep water red grouper fishing. Along with the deep-water red grouper we often catch big scamp grouper. It is going to be an exciting January with plenty of opportunities for big scamp big gags and some nice mangrove snapper. The fishing in January is typically very good as long as weather allows us to get out there offshore into deep water. We often will see plenty of pelagic fish too up on the surface from tuna to kingfish to the occasional wahoo as well. However offshore weather can be treacherous in January really hit or miss with the cold fronts. If we get a lot of cold fronts the cold fronts, make weather tough and are typically followed by strong high pressures which bring a stiff E breeze and make getting offshore difficult. However, when the weather allows and it is calm and the seas are moderate fishing is super hot offshore in January. We see a good little start to the January fishery with weather and we are hoping that trend will continue.
We have been seeing some nice mangrove snapper offshore especially on those 39 and 44 hour trips the mangrove snapper fishing has been going well and around 120-to-180-foot water. Along with the mangrove snapper we have seen some pretty big and concentrated yellowtail snapper. Even the occasional mutton has been around offshore lately as well. It has really been an exciting time to be offshore when weather allows. Our last 39-hour trip had a little bit slower fishing than we would have liked we encountered a little rougher weather than forecasted and a little bit more of a high pressure like effect with clear blue skies and a tougher pickier bite. However, those who fished hard and fished consistently throughout the whole trip ended up putting together a nice catch of fish. While the quantity was not there the quality was with around 25 to 30 keeper gag grouper some nice big scamps some solid mangroves and good heads and tails. The pile of fish was smaller than we would have liked but All in all it ended up being a decent trip. The flying hub two on its 12-hour extreme trip has been doing well offshore and in January should have some good opportunities at plentiful big fish if the weather will permit us to fish as often as as we would like.
NEVER CUT THE LINE
• Using a towel or shirt, drape it over the head • Gently grasp and try to keep the bird calm•Carefully use a dehooker tool to remove hook
• Release the bird and continue Fishing!
• If hook is swallowed or unable to be removed safely, contact your local Bird Santuary
Watch our podcast with SALTSTRONG on this issue below
