Titusville

Today I was talking with Tom from Doc's Bait & Tackle in Titusville. He was telling me that the fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon has been excellent in spite of the bad weather. His customers are catching 10-12 reds a day along with up to 10 trout, and some small flounder to the south. The reds and trout are hitting shrimp and Berkley Gulp baits. Black Drum are being caught on blue crabs at the rail road bridge and Haullover Canal. Beach fishing has been slow due to the high winds. Tom was telling me that if he had to pick one thing to go after right now it would be shrimp. You can use a dip net or box net to catch them from the Titusville Bridge or the rail road bridge. " It's a fun way to get some cheep shrimp! " he says. For more information contact;
Doc's Bait & Tackle
321-264-0330
20 N. Washington Av.
Titusville, FL 32796

St. Petersburg

I spoke with Mastry's Bait & Tackle Inc. today. They were telling me that the high winds and rough seas of the last couple of weeks, have kept most of there customers from getting out into the gulf. For those that have gotten out, it has been tough going with few fish caught. Inshore fishing has been good though. They usually work the flats and canals from Pinellas Point to Ft. DeSoto Park. Trout, redfish, snook, and sheepshead have all been biting well. Fish jerk baits on the flats and in the canals for some great action with the trout, reds and snook. Fiddler crabs and mussels will catch sheepshead around docks and bridges. For more information call;
Mastry's Bait & Tackle Inc.
727-896-8889
1700 4th Street S.
St. Petersburg, FL 33701

Pompano

This morning I spoke with Jeff at T&R Tackle Shop in Lauderdl By Sea, which lies between Ft. Ladurdale and Pompano. Jeff was telling me that the weather has turned pretty snotty over the last couple of days. Before that, boats that were kite fishing offshore of Pompano were hooking 20+ sailfish, and 10+ swordfish a day. Inshore there are still some resident tarpon around, but the only other inshore fish that are biting has been bonefish. He has been getting reports of decent numbers of bones coming from the beach, and from Anglin's pier. For more information contact Jeff at;
R&R Tackle Shop
954-776-1055
229 Commercial Blvd.
Lauderdl By Sea, FL 33308

What's open? What's closed?

February 1st marks the opening of snook season state wide. That's the good news! The bad news is that it also marks the beginning of a one month closure of speckle trout fishing in the North East and North West regions. The North East region is is defined as state waters lying north of the Flagler-Volusia County line to the Florida/Georgia border. The North West region is state waters north and west of a line running due west from the western most point of Fred Howard Park Causeway, approximately 1.17 miles south of the Pasco-Pinellas County line, to the Florida/Alabama border. Red snapper fishing is also closed in the Gulf of Mexico through April 14th.

Port St. Joe

Today I talked with Greg from Half Hitch Tackle in Port St. Joe near Panima City. He reminded me that trout fishing is closed in there part of the state as of today, Feb. 1. Before that, his customers had been reporting excellent catches of specs in the marina and the bay. "Where there are trout there are reds!" he told me when I asked if the redfish had been biting. He was also telling me that the high winds from the recent cold fronts has kept most people from traveling to far into the gulf, but those who have gotten out have been rewarded with good catches of grouper at the near shore wrecks. To find out more contact Greg at;
Half Hitch Tackle
850-227-7100
212 W Highway 98#A
Port St. Joe, FL 32456