UTERThe best time to fish Tampa Bay is April and October. In April, snook, trout and redfish are on the flats as kingfish and cobia arrive, and in October, schooling reds, snook and the fall mackerel runs all feed at once as the water cools through the 70s. Every month has something to catch, though: sheepshead in winter, tarpon in May and June, mangrove snapper in July, and bull reds and flounder in fall.
This guide covers Tampa Bay and Sarasota, from Tarpon Springs to Venice: Florida's biggest open-water estuary, with its grass flats, mangrove islands and oyster bars, the Skyway's endless pilings, the barrier-island passes (Johns, Pass-a-Grille, Longboat, New Pass, Big Sarasota, Venice), and a dense field of artificial reefs a few miles off the beach. The months come from the Tampa Bay page of Fish Scouter's season calendar.
Tampa Bay fishing calendar at a glance
| Month | Headline | Top targets |
|---|---|---|
| January | Sheepshead on every piling; trout deep; reds in the canals | Sheepshead, black drum, redfish, trout |
| February | Sheepshead spawn on the reefs and passes | Sheepshead, black drum, redfish |
| March | Snook out of the canals; Spanish and cobia arrive | Snook, trout, pompano, Spanish, cobia |
| April | Everything at once; the first tarpon | Snook, kingfish, cobia, pompano, trout |
| May | Tarpon on the beaches; snook to the passes | Tarpon, snook, permit, kingfish |
| June | Peak tarpon; beach snook at dawn | Tarpon, snook, mangrove snapper |
| July | Snapper spawn on the reefs | Mangrove snapper, tarpon, tripletail |
| August | Hot and still: the tide is everything | Snapper, snook, tripletail, redfish |
| September | Reds school up; the bait run starts | Redfish, snook, Spanish, jacks |
| October | The other best month | Redfish, snook, kingfish, Spanish, flounder |
| November | Trout and reds on the flats; flounder run | Trout, redfish, flounder, pompano |
| December | Winter sets up | Sheepshead, black drum, trout, gag |
Winter: December to February
January
Sheepshead are on every piling: the Skyway, the bay bridges and the docks. Use a live shrimp or fiddler crab tight to the structure. Trout and redfish drop into the deep holes, the residential canals and the power-plant outflows. Sight-fish reds on the flats on warm afternoons. Snook stack in the warm canals and at the Apollo Beach outflow. Never fish a cold-stunned snook. Blackfin tuna follow the shrimp boats offshore.
After a cold front: fish drop into the canals, the deep holes off the flats, the Skyway and the power-plant outflows where the water stays warm. Three days after a front, the flats fire again on the afternoon incoming.
February
The sheepshead spawn. Big fish move to the pass jetties and the nearshore reefs, and the spawn is triggered by water temperature. Black drum spawn under the Skyway and the bay bridges, so put a crab on the bottom. Late in the month, trout spread back over the grass on warm afternoons.
December
Pilings and reefs for sheepshead, deep holes and canals for trout and reds, and black drum on the flats with crab. Gag grouper move inshore onto the bay rocks and the shipping-channel ledges as the water cools (check MyFWC for the season). Roe mullet run out the passes to spawn.
Spring: March to May
March
Snook move out of the canals to the mangrove points and passes, and the harvest season changes in spring, so check MyFWC. Trout move back onto the grass on the afternoon incoming. Spanish mackerel flood the bay on the bait, at the Skyway, in the shipping channel and at the pass mouths. Cobia show up on the channel markers and under rays. The spring pompano run hits the beaches from Clearwater to Venice and the passes.
April
The best inshore month. Snook sit on the mangroves and in the passes, and big fish stage on the beaches. Trout and reds are on the flats. Kingfish peak on the nearshore reefs off Egmont and Pinellas, so slow-troll live threadfins. Cobia peak on the markers and nearshore wrecks and follow manta rays off the beach. Pompano peak on the beaches and the sand bars at the pass mouths. Tarpon show at the Skyway and Egmont by the end of the month, as the bay passes 76°F.
May
Tarpon pods move north along the beach past Anna Maria, Longboat, Egmont and Pass-a-Grille. Throw live threadfins or crabs in front of rolling fish at dawn. Snook gather in the passes (Johns, Longboat, Big Sarasota) and along the beach trough to spawn, with closed-season and slot rules, so check MyFWC. Permit show up on the nearshore wrecks off Egmont and the Pinellas reefs, and mangrove snapper start turning on.
Summer: June to August
June
Peak tarpon on the beaches and in the bay: the Skyway, Egmont Channel and the Fort De Soto bars. The hill tides around the full and new moons flush crabs out of the passes, and fish in the passes feed on the outgoing. Beach snook cruise the trough in a foot of water at first light, and night fish sit under the pass dock lights. Permit spawn on the nearshore wrecks and reefs. Fish a live crab on the down-current side. Mangrove snapper are on every reef and bridge. See the Florida tarpon season guide for handling. Big tarpon stay in the water.
July
The best mangrove snapper fishing of the year, on the nearshore reefs and the Skyway, with the summer spawn on the reefs. Tarpon linger on the beaches early and spread into the bay and the rivers by month's end. Tripletail sit on the markers and crab floats. Fish the flats at dawn only, and snook at night under the dock lights.
August
Hot and still. Fish the strongest tide of the day in the shade of bridges, docks and mangrove overhangs. Scattered tarpon work the bait pods at the Skyway and in the Manatee and Little Manatee rivers. Redfish start to school on the flats late in the month. This is also goliath grouper season on the bridges and deep structure. Goliath harvest is tightly restricted, so check MyFWC and plan to release them in the water.
Fall: September to November
September
Redfish school up on the flats and bars, and spawners move to the passes and nearshore. Tampa Bay was one of FWC's study sites, where bull red spawning aggregations formed from August to mid-November, peaking in September and October, and many tagged fish came back to the same site the next year. Snook return to the mangroves with the bait, and the season reopens in fall, so check MyFWC. Spanish return with the bait, and jack crevalle bust bait across the bay. Fall tarpon roll in the bay and the river mouths on the threadfin schools.
October
The other best month. The water drops through the 70s and everything feeds. Kings are on the reefs, Spanish in the bay, reds and snook on the mangroves, and flounder stage on the sand edges at the passes. The fall pompano run returns to the beaches and passes. False albacore (little tunny) blitz bait off the beaches.
November
Trout are thick on the grass, reds on the bars, and sheepshead start showing on the pilings. The flounder run is on, with fish running out through the passes on the outgoing. Drag a jig or mud minnow down the sand edges (a fall closure applies, so check MyFWC). Fall pompano peak in the passes on the outgoing. The last snook move toward the rivers and canals as the fronts start. Gag move inshore.
Tides in Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay has a mixed tide: two unequal highs and lows a day, with a range of about 1.5 to 3 feet. The strong tide of the day is the one to fish, and it switches between morning and afternoon through the month. Most rules of thumb here come down to "fish the moving water":
- Passes: the outgoing, especially on the big moon tides in summer.
- Winter flats: the afternoon incoming, after the sun has warmed the shallows.
- Bridges and the Skyway: the tide change, when current lines set up along the pilings.
- Summer: whichever strong tide falls at dawn or dusk.
Baits that work in Tampa Bay
- Whitebait (scaled sardines) and threadfins: snook, tarpon, kingfish, Spanish, spring through fall.
- Live shrimp: trout, reds, sheepshead, snook in winter.
- Fiddler crabs and small crabs: sheepshead, black drum, permit, tarpon at the passes.
- Pinfish: redfish, snook, gag on the ledges.
- Sand fleas and pompano jigs: pompano on the beaches and at the pass bars.
Rules
Tampa Bay and Sarasota Bay are their own management region for snook and redfish, and FWC adjusts seasons, slots and closures often. Read the current rule at MyFWC before you keep a fish. A saltwater license and, for snook, a snook permit are sold through FWC.
Know the day, not just the month
We built Fish Scouter to answer the question this calendar leaves open: which day this week, and which spot? We think it's the best way to plan a Tampa Bay trip, because it puts what other apps split up on one screen. It combines this season calendar with the live water temperature from the nearest reporting sensor, the NOAA tide for the nearest station, the wind and the seven-day outlook, and ranks every species for the spot you're on, each hour, with the reasons in plain words. Its map covers the Skyway, the passes, the piers and the nearshore reefs. See the full Florida fishing calendar for the rest of the state, or try Fish Scouter free.