Around Tampa Bay

1. At Big Pier 60 in Clearwater, steady bite for Spanish mackerel. Pompano slowing down. Plenty of ladyfish. Snook in wee hours of night on big live baits, but now catch-and-release. A 48-inch snook released for second week in a row.

2. At Madeira Beach, kingfish boats concentrating on main shipping channel from Egmont Key out to Whistler Buoy, reports Larry Mastry at Mastry's Tackle. Anglers slow-trolling for kings 5 to 35 pounds with sardines or blue runners caught on Sabiki rigs around buoys. Mastry caught 20-pound-plus kings and 5-pound mackerel off Blind Pass Wednesday, and expects great weekend off beaches with east winds laying down seas. Grouper have moved from 65 to 100 feet, said Mastry.

3. At John's Pass, pompano good bet at Bayway Bridge and in pass on Silly Willy jigs (pink/white, orange/white) and Berkley Gulp! Sand Crab (natural), and even frozen sand fleas, reports John Martinez at Johnny's Bait & Tackle in Treasure Island (727-367-9138). Lot of Spanish mackerel on Gator spoons and Gotcha plugs in passes.

4. At Fort DeSoto Park, pompano picked up at Gulf Pier, hitting yellow Doc's jigs and Silly Willy jigs. Trout excellent on flats with greenbacks or strawberry Luv Lure Sluggers, said Larry Mastry.

5. Around the Sunshine Skyway and lower Tampa Bay, snook off and on with weather, and now out of season. Capt. Shawn Crawford of Lakeland (941-747-3856) reports excellent snook bite Friday, with 15-20 including four in slot up to 33 inches on greenbacks, along with equal number of redfish up to 29 inches. Wednesday much slower for snook after cold front, with dozen undersized fish with water temperature warming to 77 by 1 p.m. Anglers jumping tarpon between Skyway and Egmont on outgoing tides, and new moon should create strong tides and flush of crabs this weekend. Crawford also catching Spanish mackerel up to 30 inches in bay.

6. At Anna Maria, snook have been fickle in upper Sarasota Bay, but not trout, which are exploding on topwater plugs early, reports Capt. Jon Bull of Lakeland (863-860-7250). Bull said Ryan Tickles of Riverview connected with numerous trout up to 19 inches on MirrOlure Mirror-Mullets and She Pups. When surface bite died, they switched to D.O.A. jerkbaits (Golden Bream, Stark Naked, Greenback) and hand-picked shrimp on ultralight spinning tackle, targeting oyster bars for redfish and snook. Small redfish up to 17 inches and ladyfish nonstop in Longboat Pass area, also going for 1/4-ounce silver Crocodile spoons. Sight-casting to redfish and snook in 30-inch class proved futile.

7. At St. Petersburg, Spanish mackerel up to 5 pounds easy pickings for Capt. Chuck Rogers of Tampa Thursday around Skyway bridge and range markers on greenbacks with long-shanked No. 2 hooks. Good-sized trout at Tarpon Key, Indian Key and Pinellas Point. Redfish at Tarpon Key, but extremely skittish after being pounded by anglers.

8. In the north end of Tampa Bay, trout filling the gap when snook not chewing around cold fronts. Capt. Jason Lineberger (813-363-9474) of Tampa reports easy limits of trout around Weedon Island.

Elsewhere

- Boats "slamming'' big dolphin at Fort Pierce this week, reports Brennan Smith at the Fishing Center of St. Lucie (772-465-7637). Dolphin up to 60 pounds trolling ballyhoo behind blue-and-white Ilander lures around weed lines at 100-250 feet, with some sailfish mixed in. Inshore, snook slowed down. But trout even better than last week on topwater plugs (4-inch Rapala Skitterwalk) and D.O.A. Glow Shrimp around Bear Point, Smith said, with lots of 5-pounders and some 7-8 pounds. Big jacks in 20-pound range in inlet on live pinfish or mullet.

- Capt. Greg Penix of Lakeland (941-697-1815) took first tarpon charter of spring Thursday, jumping and landing 140-pounder south of Redfish Pass on threadfin. He said just four boats tarpon fishing in Boca Grande Pass, and no tarpon off beaches.

Penix said snook finished last week of season on tough bite in back bays at Boca Grande because of cold front. His anglers boated 31-inch snook two of three days along with number of undersized snook on greenbacks. Trout remain best bet by far, with daily limits 17-20 inches for Penix.

- Trout mostly 2-3 pounds but up to 5-6 pounds hitting surface lures on calm mornings at Indian and Banana rivers, reports Capt. Keith Mixon of Lakeland (www.mixinworkwithplay.com). Mixon said trout easily spooked, requiring stealthy approach. Medium-sized jacks on light tackle at Port Canaveral. Mixon using 7-foot medium action rods with 10-pound Power Pro and mono leader with live shrimp.

- Miami Dolphins quarterback John Beck released five tarpon in Keys for grand champion celebrity honors in Hawk's Cay Sunrise/Sunset Tarpon Tournament out of Duck Key that ended Sunday. David Zeuske of Ponte Vedra also released five tarpon for top angler award. Both were with Capt. Rich Tudor of Islamorada.

- Slow's the word at Sebastian Inlet, with few anglers on water until school gets out, reports Steve Parsons at Wabasso Bait and Tackle (772-589-8518). Some bluefish around. Pompano and whiting in surf when water's clean. Groundswell good for surfers this week, said Parsons, but not for bottom fishing.