Inshore Fishing Report
The inshore bite continues to offer variety and excitement this time of year as water temperatures cool and fish settle into a more steady winter time pattern. Sheepshead fishing is hitting its stride with thick concentrations around docks, piers, jetties, and bridge pilings—basically anywhere that holds barnacles and oysters. Use small pieces of shrimp, fiddler crabs, or oyster meat on 1/0 hooks with 15–20 lb fluorocarbon leaders for the best results. You would want to use minimal to no weight, just what you need to keep the bait in the strike zone close to structures.
Trout fishing remains productive across the flats and back bays, especially in the afternoons when the water warms slightly. Soft plastics on light jigheads or live shrimp under popping corks are producing well. If you’re out at night, the dock and bridge lights are lit up with some really solid trout. We saw a huge one caught recently on the lights of the johns pass bridge at night!
Flounder continue to be a fun and reliable target for anglers working sandy edges, potholes, and flat transitions near structure. Try dragging a soft plastic or live shrimp slowly across the bottom—it’s often that subtle thump you’re waiting for. Look for sandy bottom down tide from structure like docks, piers, bridges or grass flat edges.
Snook have moved up into the rivers and bayous, staging in deeper creeks, under docks, and along mangrove edges where the water is warmer. A slow presentation with shrimp, pinfish, or jerk baits will trigger a bite from these lethargic winter fish.
Redfish are still feeding around the mangrove shorelines and oyster bars, though their activity has slowed a bit with the cooler water. Cut bait on the bottom is a go-to, and you’ll find them mixed in with the sheepshead around docks and pilings.
Along the beaches, bonnethead sharks are still plentiful and a great light-tackle target. Small chunks of shrimp or crab and 30 lb leaders work perfectly for these feisty little sharks.
Fishing Tips
- Snook: Use live baits like greenbacks, threadfins, and shrimp, or try flair hawks and soft plastics at night.
- Redfish: Look for them around mangroves, oyster bars, and flats, and use dead baits during higher tides.
- Trout: Target them with soft plastics, white bait, and shrimp around deeper flats and potholes.
- Tarpon: Target them during the full moon with crab flushes, making it an ideal time to target them.
- Flounder: Find them near sandy bottoms and structures, biting on bottom baits.
- Pompano: Be prepared to move frequently to stay on their bite.
- Sharks: Use big dead baits in areas with moving water.
Help spread the word about what to do if you hook or entangle a bird. Never cut the line; instead, reel in the bird carefully to dehook and release it. If you accidentally hook a dock, break the line at the hook to avoid leaving any line in the water. Seabirds with fishing lines hanging from them are becoming more common, and this could lead to the closure of fishing areas.
Rising concerns about bird entanglements might result in closing fishing spots, impacting the few available locations around Tampa Bay from shorelines, docks, bridges, or piers. Learn more in our podcast with Salt Strong: https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/shutting-down-fishing-at-busy-pier/.
NEarshore Fishing Report
The near shore fishery has been hot with plenty of variety and solid catches across the board. Hogfish are becoming more and more active. The best depths have been in the 40–70 ft range on hard bottom and smaller ledges. Live shrimp on a 1–2 oz knocker rig with a 3-4/0 hook, 20–30 lb braid, and 10–15 ft fluorocarbon leader is the go-to setup. Patience is key—porgies and grunts will peck first before the hogfish move in. We also see the hogfish jigs tipped with shrimp as a great other set up for the hogfish. Also, a lot of folks will add some beads between the hook and the sinker on their knocker rigs to add some visual and sound to their hogfish set up.
Lane snapper fishing has been great in 60–100 ft of water. They’ll bite on cut squid, shrimp, or threadfin. Mangrove snapper are mixed in and will eat small chunks of threadfin or live shrimp. The bite improves dramatically for mangroves as you move deeper. We see the same with the lane snapper lately too.
Red grouper are scattered near shore but there are still keepers to be found when working the deeper near shore. Use larger baits like cut mackerel, bonito strips, or live pinfish to draw out the bigger fish. The bite around 80ft or more seems to be getting better and better for the red grouper lately, however, we aren’t seeing much bycatch in that depth range with them.
Fishing Tips
- Red Grouper: Target the deepest near shore waters with big dead baits or solid live baits. Use 60 lb test and 7/0 hooks for best results.
- Red Snapper: Use big dead baits like whole squid and bonita strips with heavy tackle to focus on larger fish. Prime trips include the 12-hour extreme, 39-hour, and 44-hour trips.
- Scamp Grouper: Use small to medium pinfish and cut threadfin, especially while targeting mangrove snapper.
- Mangrove Snapper: Near shore, use live shrimp and small chunks of threadfin on 30-40 lb test with 3-4/0 hooks. Offshore, use bigger chunks of cut threadfin or medium pinfish on 40-60 lb test with 5-7/0 hooks.
- Vermillion Snapper: Start around 100 feet of water using cut squid or threadfin. These fish are aggressive and not leader-shy.
- Yellowtail Snapper: Use shrimp, cut squid, and threadfin.
- Pelagic Species: Keep flat lines and pitch rods ready for sailfish, kingfish, wahoo, tuna, and mahi mahi.
Offshore Fishing Report
Offshore fishing is in full swing with great opportunities for a mixed bag of bottom and pelagic species. Red grouper are feeding well between 120–180 ft of water over hard bottom and ledges. Big dead baits like whole squid, bonito strips, and boston mackerel work great, and live pinfish are always a safe bet for larger fish. Scamp grouper are also showing up in the same areas, particularly on the deeper ledges.
Mangrove snapper action remains consistent with good size fish coming on double-snell rigs baited with cut threadfin. Triggerfish are still chewing well, and a small strip of squid or fish on a smaller hook does the trick.
The mutton and yellowtail snapper bite continues to impress offshore. Muttons are hitting live pinfish and cut baits fished on longer leaders, while yellowtails respond well to lighter tackle and small baits presented naturally. Vermillion snapper and porgies have been plentiful as well, filling coolers with solid bycatch for those dropping in deeper water.
Pelagic action remains strong—blackfin tuna, kingfish, and even the occasional wahoo have been active on temperature breaks and color changes. Running a flat line or trolling plugs between spots can pay off big time right now.
Don’t forget, that we have some great videos on our fishing tips and tricks page here to show you how to target and rig for almost any species-> https://www.hubbardsmarina.com/fishing-tips/
Remember that when fishing in deeper nearshore and offshore federal waters, the Descend Act requires you to have a descending device or venting tool “rigged and ready.” If you know how to use a venting tool, keep it prepared. If not, here’s some helpful advice: https://bit.ly/3L5HTnv. Using a descending device is straightforward and doesn’t require as much precision or practice as venting. Return em’ Right has a training course only takes about 10-15 minutes, and you can learn valuable techniques to protect our offshore fishery. Spread the word by visiting: https://returnemright.org/.
TERMS OF REFERENCE-
Inshore: This covers the areas from the inner bays, through the bridges, and right up to the beaches.
Near Shore: This includes the coastal waters from the beaches up to twenty miles offshore, or up to a depth of 100 feet.
Offshore: This extends from twenty miles offshore or from a depth of 100 feet and beyond.
For more fishing reports, photos, videos, and other content, check out Hubbard’s Marina on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, Pinterest, or Snapchat by searching for @HubbardsMarina. Remember our family motto: “If you’re too busy to go fishing, you’re just too busy!” Thank you for reading our report.
Capt. Dylan Hubbard, Hubbard’s Marina
Phone or text: (727) 393-1947
Website: Hubbard’s Marina
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