This afternoon I talked with Larry at Mastry's Bait & Tackle in St. Petersburg. He was telling me that the fishing was really good before the cold front blew through yesterday. His customers have been catching lots of redfish, silver trout, speckled trout, some good sized snook, and sheepshead from the canals and flats stretching from St. Pete Pier to Fort DeSoto Park. The best natural baits to use are shrimp and cut bait for the reds, shrimp for the trout and snook, especially during the day, and shrimp or fiddler crabs for the sheepshead. The best artificials are jerk baits and soft plastics, hard plastics, and spoons. With some of the coldest temperatures of the year for casted for this weekend, I asked Larry for some of his best cold water tips. He was telling me that for sheepshead, he looks for any rock pile that soaks up a lot of sun. Your best bet though, is to fish the sunny sides of the canals. Fish dead end canals if the water gets really cold but mostly the fish will hold to docks and other structure on the side of the canal that gets the most sun. For more information contact;
Mastry's Bait & Tackle
727-896-8889
1700 4th St. S
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
