Inshore Fishing Report
Snook action is a big pinnacle of our inshore report this week with their return to the pass! We are seeing lots of them already around the pass in the early morning, but once sunrises they get a bit more difficult to get feeding in good numbers unless you hit that solunar. We are seeing a bunch of them eating heavily through the night time periods too around the dock lights and bridge lights of the area. We are throwing live shrimp, live pigfish or grunts and even live pinfish. Seems as though they differ on what they are looking for depending on the area and whats around them, but nearly all the live bait options are working well. They are super aggressive right now and hitting plenty of lures too if you find them in their prime feeding time!
Sheepshead are still around the pass too with lots of them around our dock pilings and bridge pilings of the pass. We are seeing them caught using small pieces of shrimp or fiddler crabs mostly. Lighter tackle is a great idea with minimal weights.
Trout around the bridge at night is the best bet, but you can find them working the flats inside the pass around the islands. At night throwing live shrimp and light tackle in the lights your almost guaranteed trout action right now on either side of the johns pass bridge.
Pompano are hit and miss but we are finding a few around the pass. They will be around one day hiting the shrimp or pompano jigs, but the next day disappear completely. They can be super finicky and frustrating in that respect, but super good eating and fun to catch.
Mangrove snapper are even starting to trickle back to the docks too. Its an awesome time of year when we see all these patterns and fisheries start to overlap. The summer time species are showing up and getting prolific while the more wintertime patterns and fisheries are still vibrant too!
Mackerel have shown back up too, so have a gotch or casting spoon ready when hitting the jetties or local fishing piers. They are looking for fast moving flashy baits or lures. They will be only getting more and more prolific as water temps are starting to get right!
NEarshore Fishing Report
Lane snapper are getting crazy near shore and we should only see more and more as water temps warm up. They are biting well on the ten hours best, but we are seeing some half day trips come in with big numbers too. They are great eating fish and we t ypically see quite a few of them on a variety of dead baits. They will take the live shrimp while we target the hogfish too!
Hogfish action is going really well right now too with some solid action on the ten hour trips. The half days are still picking a few as well, but we have noticed it become a bit more tricky. As water warms they get more spread out and less concentrated and less aggressive too. We typically target them with around 30lb leaders and around 1-2oz egg sinkers and 3-4ot hooks.
Mangrove snapper are pretty steady in the deeper near shore waters as you approach closer to around 100ft, but most of the time its on the ten hour while fishing deeper you get a decent run of mangrove snapper. They will take the live shrimp while targeting the hogfish, but the cut threadfin and the double snell is a great option.
Red grouper action is going well as we get to the deepest near shore water. We are seeing steady numbers, but its only a few here and there. They love big dead baits or the live pinfish. I like using a big threadfin or two, or a big threadfin with a strip of squid, or a nice sized pinfish while targeting red grouper in our deeper near shore waters.
Mackerel are back near shore but not in huge quantities. They will only increase in the coming week with the new moon and the water temps getting settled. We have lots of bait around and that will only attract more mackerel action.
Offshore Fishing Report
Red grouper is the focus offshore right now on our long range trips. However, we are hitting some triggerfish spots and enjoying some nice big keeper triggerfish. Plus, we got a few nice scamp coming up to keep too. Then along with all that we are seeing solid mangrove snapper action with a good average sized overall.
There’s plenty of heads and tails too like the vermillion, porgies, almacos, and more! The pelagic action is starting to warm up with the water with the blackfin tuna ready to go off, wahoo getting active and then the kingfish wont be far behind.
The last overnight trip even had a bunch of unique fish like big hogfish, African pompano, and mutton. We should see the yellowtail snapper more too as water warms as well!
Captain Dylan Hubbard discusses upcoming weather conditions, recent catches of inshore, nearshore, and offshore fish species, along with upcoming events and additional updates.
Don’t miss Capt Dylan Hubbard with Chef Jeff Philbin and the Dinner DeeAs team showcasing their seafood secrets! Watch the full video now on FOX 13 News – Tampa Bay’s website: Captain Dylan Hubbard’s Seafood Secrets
