Fishing remains hot — Enjoy it while it lasts

Once again, mangrove snapper seem to be the topic upon arrival at the dock. On nearly all of my recent charters, limits of snapper are being filleted at the cleaning table. Sizes of these fish are ranging 12-18 inches, which is a welcome sight for inshore fishers.

Another welcome addition to the snapper bite is flounder. Our summertime flounder bite is due, and these flat fish are beginning to make a showing. On a recent charter with Bert Rawald, we managed to catch a couple of flounder in the 20-inch range, which is a respectable-sized fish for our area.

Spanish mackerel and ladyfish are patrolling the beaches migrating from bait school to bait school in search of a meal. Live shiners are a sure fire way to catch these high-activity fish, although artificials such as small jigs, spoons or Gotcha plugs will do almost as well.

Finally, catch-and-release shark fishing remains consistent around the mouth of Tampa Bay. Blacktip sharks 4-6 feet are the most abundant, although I’m seeing spinner sharks and bull sharks on the end of the line, too.