In – Shore
Sheepshead action generally picks up as the water clears behind the last front! Behind fronts waters get very stirred up, but the ‘Sheeps” seem to be unaffected. Recently we had a handful of young anglers on the docks filling coolers with Sheepshead. Black drum still biting well too. Most of the Snook action is at night on the outgoing tide. Flounder fishing inside the passes is going well too, dragging soft plastics or fishing live shrimp along the bottom of the sandy bottom is the best approach for the flounder.
Near – Shore
The Hogfish bite is getting really good! However, this recent cold front will slow them down a bit, they do not like to feed as actively in the muddier near shore waters. Hopefully it should clear quickly and the bite will pick back up. The Kingfish are the same story as the hogs, the muddy and now chillier near shore waters makes it hard to get the kingfish chewing. However, as the water clears, calms and warms they pick back up where they left off.
Off – Shore
Kingfish have been steadier out in the deeper offshore waters. Red Grouper bite was picking up a bit before this big blow. We were finally starting to see them become more aggressive and in larger numbers. Triggerfish still biting well and we’ve been able to dial in on these guys with ease since they opened up March first. Snapper species are continuing to bite well and that will only improve as the waters warm up and summer spawns approach.
Captain Jack’s Dolphin Corner
Lots of baby birds lately at the bird nesting island or local rookery named ‘dog leg key’ inside Boca Ciega Bay. We cruise this island on every dolphin watching nature cruise & eco tour at Hubbard’s Marina and it’s only $19.50 for adults and half price for kids 11 and under! Dolphins have been quite active lately in large groups socializing the juveniles and playing ‘catch’ with large fish like Redfish, Mullet or Snook showing the juveniles how to better utilize their sonar to hunt down their prey. The tossing and slapping on the water stuns the fish allowing the juveniles more time to hunt them down before they take off.