Sheepshead have been a go to fish recently all around the Tampa Bay. Dropping water temperatures have started to group up the sheepshead in preparation for their spawn. Capt. Billy Miller has been focusing on docks and rip rap sea walls in the John’s Pass area and filling bag limits using live shrimp on a 1/4 ounce jig head.
Downtown St. Pete piers and sea walls have been the hot sheepshead spots for Capt. Chris Wiggins. Wiggins like to use fiddler crabs with no weight or just enough weight to fish the bottom.
The Skyway fishing piers report big schools of sheepshead have showed up around the pilings. Pieces of fresh shrimp and fiddler crabs have been the best baits. Silver trout and speckled trout have also shown up under the lights at night. DOA shrimp or MirrOdines will get these night time trout to bite.
The warm water outflows at the Apollo Beach and Weedon Island power plants continue to be good action spots. The warmer water attracts trout, reds, cobia, sharks of all kinds, pompano, jacks and ladyfish. Try a live shrimp under a float and one on the bottom. Covering the water column will help you find the feeding zone.
Red grouper and amberjack seasons have opened up and Hubbard’s Marina reports good catches of both. Live bait works best for the AJ’s but dead bait, like squid strips and cut threadfin herring has been working best for the red grouper.
Sarasota Bay deep grass flats has been producing good catches of trout, bluefish and Spanish mackerel for Capt. Rick Grasset. Grasset like drifting the flats and throwing DOA Cal jigs and Deadly Combinations.