St. Pete Report – Kingfish Time By: Capt. Anthony Corcella

The kingfish and Spanish mackerel will be around the bait schools. Look for the birds and the mackerel, and kings will be there. For Spanish mackerel, live whitebait and shrimp are a safe bet. Small silver spoons or Gotcha lures will provide steady action too.

If targeting the kingfish, slow trolling a live blue runner, sardine or ladyfish on a stinger rig is a proven technique. A spoon or diving plug trolled on a planer is also a tried and true method for the hard bait crowd. The areas around the Skyway Bridge are top mackerel and kingfish grounds. The gear I like to use for these bad boys is a nice 6k to 8k spinning reel and a 7-foot 6-inch Kris Green custom fishing rod. These rods can be bought at St. Pete fishing outfitters.

Tripletail will be around the markers, buoys, off the beach and in Tampa Bay. I like to use good size shrimp and white bait.

The inshore gag grouper will also be a hot bite due to the cooler water temps. They will be coming in from offshore. Fish near the sides of the main shipping channel. Look for them on rock piles and in the middle of the channel.

The Redfish bite remains outstanding at Weeden Island. The bait of choice is cut pinfish or white bait. This should remain the rest of the year there.