Fall Fishing Tampa Bay

Fall Fishing Tampa Bay — with the cold fronts starting to roll in and the Kingfish run in full swing, the dropping air and water temps have the bite fired up inshore and offshore. The dropping temps down to the mid to upper 70s at night will have this cold front pushing fish hard.

Snook: The Snook fishing is on fire with these cooler temps. We have been finding them around and up the major rivers, creeks, and residential docks. A ton of smaller Snook along with some over-slot fish mixed in. The best bait is still a scaled sardine or whitebait, with a white 4-inch jerk bait coming in second.

Redfish: The Redfishing is just starting to get better on the flats. Look for mullet schools in 1 to 3 feet of water and use your trolling motor to get into position. The best baits are live sardines or pinfish; for artificials, jerk baits or paddle tail jigs.

Mackerel and Kingfish: Fall always means big schools of Kingfish and Mackerel in the bay and off the beaches — some of the best fun fishing around. I use a 2x long-shanked hook in a 3/0 with a short piece of 60 or 80-pound fluorocarbon leader. Popular methods include live baiting with Shad, Ladyfish, or Blue Runners, and slow-trolling a Mackerel for a smoker-quality Kingfish.