St Pete Report By: Capt. Anthony Corcella

Get On That Bite Before The Weather Is Too Hot.

The redfish bite right now is phenomenal. Pretty soon, water temperatures are going to skyrocket. The bite is going to slow down on the flats. Those red fish and snook are going to be sluggish. June is still a good month to catch them, before the heat wave comes. They’re showing their tails all over the area where there’s mangroves. The set up that I like to use for catching these nice red fish is usually a 7’6” fishing rod paired up with a 3000-size reel. Sometimes a 4000 set up works just as good to haul those big redfish out of the mangroves. Don’t forget about the occasional 40-inch snook that’s sitting up in the mangroves.

For me, cut bait seems to be working the best. You always want to “match the hatch,” whether it’s cut pin fish or cut threadfin herring. Some are using live bait, which works great for the smaller fish. Just remember when you book a trip with us., we’re going to use cut bait and we are going to catch big fish. When I throw cut bait, I prefer 20 to 25-pound fluorocarbon leader with 20-pound braid. It’s always a good time when the rod is bending in half and the drag is screaming when you hook up one of those redfish that’s just been laying underneath the mangroves cooling off in the shade.

Once the bite starts to slow down, I tend to move to some of the artificial reefs in Tampa Bay to catch snapper and mackerel. Occasionally, kingfish will hang around for a bit. Sometimes, we will go after those big bull sharks and lemon sharks that everybody wants to catch. I like to use at least 60-pound fluorocarbon leader and a mustard 6/0 demon perfect hook for those sharks. Sometimes you never know, you may hook up with a cobia. Cobia steaks on the grill are phenomenal–one of my favorite eating fish. Remember, if you’re looking to get new tackle or live bait, make sure you check out Riviera Bait and Tackle.  And, if you’re up in North County, make sure you check out the Rusty Bucket Baithouse in New Port Richey. Tell him I sent you. They’ll take 10% off. And remember, check us out on Facebook for all our newest pictures of people catching fish and having a great time.