It’s been a chilly start to 2018, but the fishing around St Pete and Clearwater Beach has been pretty good. Whether its been inshore or offshore there has been plenty of action. Obviously the warmer the better, but my charters have got some nice catches on the coldest of days.

Inshore the trout and snook bite has been the best. Fishing the deep grass edges with shrimp on the bottom has produced the best numbers of trout. A lot of fish in the 13 to 17 inches and we’ve caught some up to 25 inches. In the early part of the month I was still finding plenty of snook around a lot of the mangrove shore lines. As the water temps have gone down the fish have started to move in the canals hiding around the docks. Snook can be a little tricky in the winter because they can become lethargic, but with right bait and presentation they can be caught.

With the winds I haven’t done many offshore trips, but the few times we’ve gone has been really good. Bottom fishing with shrimp and pinfish we’ve caught grouper, hogfish and many different species of snapper.