South Pinellas Fishing Report

15 November 2007

The beaches and near shore reefs are seeing a lot of bait which, in turn, is bringing good numbers of spanish mackerel and kingfish to the area. Trolling smaller spoons will net you the spanish and larger “king spoons” will get you in the kingfish.  But, nothing beats a slow-trolled live bait for the bigger kingfish. Blue runners, lady fish, mullet and threadfin rank the highest among these baits.  There are still some small pods of tarpon being reported in the Indian Rocks area, however, this most recent cold front should move these fish south.

 Dock fishing has been very productive for redfish and snook. Live white bait being the first choice followed closely by live “select” shrimp. Mirr-O-Dines and D.O.A. shrimp are great alternatives to live bait. 

The area flats are producing good numbers of trout and redfish. The trout have been of the larger variety with reports of fish over 26 inches and up to 7 pounds. The bite has been best; it seems, on noisy top water baits. Mirr-O-Lure Top Dog and Rappala Skitterwalks seem to producing very well. Soft plastics are also catching fish along with live white bait and pinfish for the reds. As the water starts to cool with the passing fronts, the need to be on the flats at first light will diminish and the bite will be better later in the day after the sun warms the water.

Capt. Tommy Z, thanks for the great report and information. We've been seeing the same off the beach so haven't spent much of any time on the flats... but I'm guessing that'll change. Hope to do so this weekend.

For anybody in North Pinellas, Tommy has a winter fishing clinic coming up on the 28th at the Largo West Marine so mark your calendars, you won't want to miss it.

Capt. Tommy Zeismann gets you ready for winter fishing with this seasonal clinic at the West Marine in Largo.

10289 Ulmerton Rd Ste B
Largo, FL 33771-4140
PHONE: 727-586-7040

The best of the rest...
The near shore grouper bite is heating up with fish being found in only 35 feet. Live pinfish top the list of baits followed closely by frozen sardines. The grouper bite has also been excellent inside the bay trolling the ship channel and freelining pinfish over some of the shallow water rock piles. Cobia are starting to show on the beaches and near shore reefs and don't forget to check crab pot lines and debris for triple tail.