Captain Tom Chaya

Winter species have been in full swing. Large sheepshead have moved in and will be ready to spawn. Just about any structure, reef or hard bottom has plenty of the convict fish. Shrimp, sandfleas, tube worms and even artifcial jigs have been working well. Pompano are scattered around the passes and are feeding on live shrimp. Quickly worked pompano jigs are also favorite. Some large trout are located on the beaches around the rock reefs. Bay grass is holding better numbers of sea trout and hitting gulp jigs. Spanish mackerel and bluefish are plentiful around the bait schools in 20 to 30 feet. White jigs and small squid spoons provided good action. Redfish were on the edges of the sandbars in Sarasota Bay on the lowest tides. Gold spoons retrieved just above the top of grass will enhance hookups. The first reports of king mackerel came in at the 50-foot hard bottom areas. They will be here earlier because of the warmer water temperatures.

Captain Bill Ware

The calm conditions on each side of this week's front allowed all of my charters to get out into the Gulf where the real action is. With every group catching 75 to 100 fish. The usual suspects being catch and release gag and red grouper, the elusive hog snapper, keywest grunts, trigger fish, sheepshead, flounder and a 6-foot blacktip shark. That's the beauty of offshore fishing. The variety and non-stop action as well as the anticipation of what's next. With a recently aquired federal reef permit, trips beyond the 9-mile state waters are available for amberjack and a variety of snappers and big grouper. Right now my 24-foottriton is adequate on days with 2- to 3-foot seas but a bigger boat is in the cards. As much as I love offshore fishing in the bay is still a good option with trout, sheepshead and many other species available. Wherever you choose to fish, the action is hot right now on all fronts.