Holiday Fishing Report

April 7, 2017

Holiday Fishing Report

INSHORE – Despite the wind anglers are still able to make it on the water during weather windows this week. Redfish and Trout are the usual contenders making an appearance for anglers so far. Reds are schooled up, especially towards Sarasota, but are becoming more scattered once we reach Tampa. Searching shallower water will be the key to finding them. The Trout on the other hand seem to be just about everywhere and ready to take a live Shrimp or an artificial such as MirrOlure. Snook are consistent into this week. Passes and beaches are holding the best sizes. There are a few Pompano that may be caught as bycatches on the beaches. They aren’t picky in terms of what they are eating, so anglers heading out shouldn’t have a problem loading up. Structure is holding the typical Snapper and Sheepshead up to 15 miles out. This comes as no surprise to most anglers. Beyond this Kings are beginning to make their way in close and should progress on this trail throughout the season.

OFFSHORE – The weather has made fishing tough into this week however when anglers are able to make it offshore they are finding a decent bite of typical, seasonal fish. The bottom bite is producing Grouper (don’t forget to check your Pro Angler App for updated regulations) and Snapper beginning in 30 feet of water. There hasn’t been many anglers heading farther offshore however Kings, Spanish and Cobia are a bit more accessible for anglers this week. Searching the causeway and trolling live bait has been the ticket to hook Kings up to 20 pounds out of Clearwater. The farther out you can go the better the sizes will be however there are a few smokers mixed in the bunch. You’ll find the Spanish are schooled up so when you find one you’ll likely find many. If you find anglers are chumming, they are likely targeting Cobia in areas like Sarasota. A bit of chum and some live bait is a killer combination to land them from the reefs. We hope to see these fish fire up once conditions are improved.

For more fish slamming info download the Pro Angler App for hundreds of locations that provide you with more of thousands of GPS Hot Spots, local Pro Reports, What’s Biting, Tide & Weather data along with many more amazing Pro Angler features.

A big THANK YOU to this week’s Pro Report contributors – Discount Tackle Outlet, Capt. Greg of Abbott’s Family Charters, Gandy’s Bait & Tackle, Hubbard’s Marina, Barracuda Bob’s Bait & Tackle, Tarpon Fishing Outfitters, and Pete’s Pier Inc! Find their contact information on the Pro Angler App!





Pro Angler Team

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INSHORE – The bite is fairly typical for this time of year. On the flats we are seeing some Cobia. They have been caught around Anclote. Small Trout (Seatrout, Spotted) are swimming with few keepers. Spanish (Mackerel, Spanish) are on the flats. Snook (Snook, Common) and Redfish (Drum, Red) are inshore.

OFFSHORE – There is still some decent action offshore this week. Grunts (Grunt, White) and Sea Bass (Sea Bass, Black) are swimming near shore. Farther out the Ajs (Jack, Amberjack Greater) and keeper Red Grouper (Grouper, Red) have been caught. Sharks are beginning to move in.

BAIT REPORT – There is plenty of Whitebait around.


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March 24, 2017

Holiday Fishing Report

INSHORE – The Pompano bite is really hot right now along the jetties of John’s Pass and the beaches however it is a bit scattered towards Sarasota and thicker towards Clearwater. These Pompano are great eating too, and bite best in the early morning or just before dark. The Snook action has been hit and miss, they really fire up but then as quickly as they start it ends. We’ve seen some monsters caught inside the passes along the beaches. The Mackerel have made their way into the bay and around bridges.
Trout, Snook, Tarpon and Redfish are beginning to get fat again. Reds can be found chasing bait around mouths of rivers and particularly in Longboat taking Shrimp. Trout are more preferring artificials such as MirrOdines, Vudu Shrimp and DOA Shrimp. Sheepshead and Drum have been caught on structure taking Fiddler Crabs or Shrimp on a knocker rig.

OFFSHORE – There is something to catch just about everywhere offshore this week. From 50-70 feet offshore there have been great catches of both Kings and Cobia. We are seeing them consistently caught from Sarasota to Homosassa.
On the bottom, the Grouper and Snapper are doing extremely well, although keep in mind what regulations are in place for them. Grouper can be targeted with Shrimp or Squid while Snapper prefer Sardines or Whitebait while chumming heavy. Ajs are providing a great catch and release bite for anglers out for some fun.

For more fish slamming info download the Pro Angler App for hundreds of locations that provide you with more of thousands of GPS Hot Spots, local Pro Reports, What’s Biting, Tide & Weather data along with many more amazing Pro Angler features.

A big THANK YOU to this week’s Pro Report contributors – Capt. Greg of Abbott’s Family Charters, Gandy Bait & Tackle, Hubbard’s Marina, Barracuda Bob’s Bait & Tackle, Tarpon Fishing Outfitters, and Pete’s Pier Inc! Find their contact information on the Pro Angler App!





Pro Angler Team

March 17, 2017

Holiday Fishing Report

INSHORE – Nothing is out of the ordinary so far this week. Although the bite is typical we can’t argue with how good it’s been. As Snook are swimming the rivers anglers are targeting them under the lights and also around passes. Keep an eye out as they will make their way to the beaches very soon in the Clearwater area.
Redfish and Trout are almost a never-fail catch. Slot Reds are loving areas such as Terra Ceia or around spoil islands. Trout are opposingly in deeper waters around edges of the grass flats, spoil islands and occasionally running flats on the beach for warm water pockets. The occasional Pompano and Spanish Mackerel are also on the beaches.

OFFSHORE – The variety of fish is improving this week. Anglers are finding fish nearshore, offshore on the bottom, just about everywhere! If you can find a weather window to head farther offshore the Tuna bite is turning on. Blackfin can be found roughly 30 miles out of Sarasota while if we look to St. Petersburg the Yellowfin are active farther on the long range overnight trips. Moving closer in, the Kings are biting well. A few of them can be caught mixed in with offshore Tuna however most of them are more towards the shipping channel areas chasing live bait. Of course, Cobia aren’t far behind as they are even closer holding up on nearshore wrecks and reefs.
The typical bottom bite is nothing new for anglers in the area. Snapper are beginning to gear up for an aggressive feeding coming very soon. The sizes are expected to be great. Grouper and Hogfish are consistently turning up while specifically targeting them, especially in the Clearwater area. Scattered Sea Bass and Grunts may be caught as well.

For more fish slamming info download the Pro Angler App for hundreds of locations that provide you with more of thousands of GPS Hot Spots, local Pro Reports, What’s Biting, Tide & Weather data along with many more amazing Pro Angler features.

A big THANK YOU to this week’s Pro Report contributors – Discount Tackle Outlet, Hubbard’s Marina, Angler 360, and Blue Water Bait & Tackle, ! Find their contact information on the Pro Angler App!





Pro Angler Team

March 10, 2017

Holiday Fishing Report

INSHORE – Snook have a been a little difficult to find in keeper sizes. There has been a lot of catch and release angling from Sarasota up in to Tampa. Try to find moving water and fish to structure just before high or low tide as they move out to feed. Bluefish, Ladyfish and Jacks have been a common bycatch out of the Sarasota area. Trout fishing has been just ok. If you were to pick only one place to Trout fish this week, you might best head to Sarasota where you will also have the opportunity to hook some Flounder while fishing with MirrOlures oddly enough. Redfish have been steady across Florida’s Central West coast. They are especially moving well down the river with Snook near Clearwater and caught or the oyster bars up in Homosassa. Tarpon have been heating up in Tampa Bay. Cobia anglers out of Hudson have been catching fish on the Flats.

For more fish slamming info download the Pro Angler App for hundreds of locations that provide you with more of thousands of GPS Hot Spots, local Pro Reports, What’s Biting, Tide & Weather data along with many more amazing Pro Angler features.

A big THANK YOU to this week’s Pro Report contributors – Economy Tackle Paddlesports, Gandy Bait & Tackle, Fisherman’s Ideal Supply House Tarpon Trading Company, J & J Provisions Inc, Pete’s Pier Inc! Find their contact information on the Pro Angler App!


OFFSHORE – We’re still waiting for King Mackerel to show up here. There is a decent Grouper and Snapper bite on the days you can get out around 10 miles. Best baits to take this week are Sardines and Squid. The Grouper off of Clearwater have been particular to Pinfish. There is also a worthwhile amount of Amberjack on structure off of Hudson.




Pro Angler Team

March 3, 2017

Holiday Fishing Report

INSHORE – The Snook bite has been HOT HOT HOT just about everywhere through Florida’s Central-West coast. Tide direction hasn’t affected the bite, just as long as there’s moving water. There will also be Redfish mixed in with the Snook. Redfish have been a little sporadic to the south, they improve around the west side of Tampa on Greenbacks or cut bait such as Pinfish. You can find them schooled up on both low tide and high tide. Trout fishing has been fairly decent through the day. There has even been a lot of Trout taken on Rapala Topwaters. Pompano anglers have been finding most of their action coming from sandbars in Tampa Bay while throwing jigs.

For more fish slamming info download the Pro Angler App for hundreds of locations that provide you with more of thousands of GPS Hot Spots, local Pro Reports, What’s Biting, Tide & Weather data along with many more amazing Pro Angler features.

A big THANK YOU to this week’s Pro Report contributors – Abbott’s Family Charters, Capt. Justin Lofaro of All American Fishing Charters, Fisherman’s Ideal Supply House, Barracuda Bob’s, Tarpon Fishing Outfitters & Blue Water Bait & Tackle! Find their contact information on the Pro Angler App!


OFFSHORE – You will have to head pretty deep to find any sizeable Red Grouper right now, starting in at least 150 feet of water. Amberjack have been hauled off of bottom structure much closer in while Sheepshead have been on the nearshore structures. There has been a lot of Kingfish around St. Petersburg, we expect this to pick up as the warmer weather comes.




Pro Angler Team








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Since fishing conditions change from minute to minute we try to keep our reports as updated as possible. Our Fishing Reports are updated weekly on the web along with our detailed App report. If you would like to contribute to the Pro Angler App Fishing Reports, feel free to email your fishing tips and contact information to mike@proangler.us We rely on all contributions to inform us if fishing conditions have changed so we can update the Fishing Reports as often as possible. Thank you and good luck on the water!.