Tampa Bay /St. Petersburg Fishing Report Redfish and Trout

The speckled trout bite is in full force with quantities of 25 - 50 fish in a trip being common. I like to work the edges of drop offs along the grass flats and deep pot holes in the grass flats. A 1/4 oz jig head with a 3" Gulp shrimp or MirrOlures Lil John will give you casting distance to cover large areas and keep your jig in contact with the bottom where the fish are. Live shrimp is also a great bait this time of year either on a jig head or a 1/0 hook with a split shot about a foot above to get it down to the fish. {%image_id=18752%} Many of these same deeper holes will hold congregations of redfish also which will hit the same baits. You can use the jig to find the fish and then switch to shrimp once you have them dialed in if you prefer live bait. Throw along the drop offs, varying how far out from the edge you cast to find what depth the fish are holding at, which can change as the day warms up or cools down. On the warmer days the reds will come out of the deeper water and onto the shallow dark grass flats to warm up. The dark shallow grass bottom flats will get much warmer then the deep holes that kept them warmer through the night. When the fish are on the shallow flats a stealthy approach and long accurate casts are a must. These fish can be very spooky and if you find a school do not chase them as this can shut them down. Instead try to let them come to you and use your trolling motor on low.