Through the year
Winter (December to February)
Cold fronts run the show. FWC says snook turn sluggish in water below about 65°F and spend the winter in the low-salinity upper estuary. Here that means Phillippi Creek, Hudson and Whitaker bayous, the Siesta Key Grand Canal, Venice's Curry and Hatchett creeks, and residential canals. FWC's snook researchers favor lures in winter, and on the coldest windy days they suggest a bar or sandy bank on the northeast shore of a canal or bayou in the upper bays.
Trout slide into deeper, still water in the cold. Redfish sit over grass, mud or sand near oyster bars, and FWC's Tampa Bay guide adds the deeper channels in the coldest weeks. Sheepshead are around oyster bars, seawalls and tidal creeks until they move out to spawn in late winter, and black drum feed on the bottom around oyster beds, docks and bridge pilings, so structure is the dependable cold-weather bite.
Watch the wind as closely as the thermometer. NOAA's tide predictions cover only the astronomical tide, and NOAA says wind can push water in a bay 1 to 2 feet above or below them, so expect bare flats and shallow creek mouths on windy days after a front. FWC says manatees go looking for warm water when it drops below about 68°F, so idle through the creeks and canals.
Spring (March to May)
In late spring, snook leave their winter water for the spawning grounds and spread out along mangrove shores, docks and grass edges toward the passes. FWC's snook researchers switch from lures to live bait for spring and summer. Trout start spawning over sand and grass in March. Spanish mackerel move north in spring and turn up over the grass beds and reefs, and pompano follow the tide and the water temperature over sandy beaches, oyster bars and grass. Sheepshead spawn in March and April, moving nearshore to do it and gathering over rocks, reefs and channel markers. Most Gulf cobia move north along Florida's Gulf coast in spring (LSU Sea Grant), and FWC finds them around buoys, pilings and wrecks in inlets and bays. Tarpon come back as the water warms.
Summer (June to August)
Snook spawn from about April or May through September or October at major inlets and river mouths, releasing their eggs in the late afternoon and early evening. FWC's researchers say the big spawners are most likely around bridges over the Intracoastal and inside inlets: here, that's the passes and the bridges near them. On summer nights, fish the edge of a dock light, not the light itself.
Tarpon hang around bridges, pilings, rock walls and flats, and young tarpon live up the low-salinity creeks. Mangrove snapper spawn from June through August, but FWC's Tampa Bay guide says the ones inside the bay are mostly young fish; the adults live out on the reefs. Trout and redfish drop into deeper water in the hottest weeks, so fish early and late. Afternoon thunderstorms bring lightning, so be off the water before they build.
Fall (September to November)
Fall is redfish spawning season. FWC says redfish spawn from about August through December in passes, inlets and the nearshore Gulf, and its aerial surveys found the big spawning schools between Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor from August into mid-November. Redfish stay inshore until they're about 30 inches long (about four years old), so the slot-size fish stay on the flats, oyster bars and docks, while the big spawners are a pass-mouth and beach story.
Snook head back toward the upper estuary in late summer or early fall. Trout keep spawning through November. Spanish mackerel head back south when the water drops below about 70°F, and pompano move with the water temperature. Flounder leave the grass for the Gulf as the weather turns cold, and flounder have a fall closed season, so check FWC before you keep one.
Cold snaps and red tide, any time
Hard freezes can kill snook and other tropical fish in shallow water. FWC's snook tag page says inshore snook can start dying when the water drops below 55°F, and asks people not to remove distressed snook. Report dead or dying fish to FWC's Fish Kill Hotline, 1-800-636-0511.
Red tide is a regular visitor. FWC's 2025 Sarasota Bay reviews count red tide at levels where fish kills were possible in 17 of the past 20 years, lasting about five months on average. Before a trip, check FWC's red tide status (a report every Friday afternoon and a sampling map updated daily) and look for clean, moving water.
How to fish it
Drifting the grass
Drift the deeper edges and sandy holes of the big meadows with live shrimp or a small pinfish or pigfish under a float, or cast soft-plastic jigs, topwater poppers or spoons; FWC recommends all of them for trout and redfish and points to the holes in the grass. Set the drift with the wind and tide, mark where the fish bite, and drift that line again. Anchor only on bare sand.
Poling, wading and sight fishing
Pole or wade the edges of the flats, mangrove points and oyster bars and cast well ahead of redfish and snook. Wading anglers should shuffle their feet instead of stepping, so they don't land on a stingray (FWC), and wear sturdy shoes for the oysters. The Sarasota Bay Estuary Program says to tilt the motor up in 2.5 feet of water or less; if you touch bottom, stop, lift the motor and pole or push back to deeper water. UF/IFAS says never to power off a seagrass flat.
Mangroves and oyster bars on the higher tide
FWC's Tampa Bay angling guide puts snook along the passes and the mangrove fringe at high tide, and redfish near grass beds, oyster bars and dock pilings. Work the shaded mangrove edges, points and creek mouths around the top of the tide and into the first of the outgoing; FWC's snook researchers favor moving water, especially the outgoing tide. Cast lures tight to the edge, or free-line live bait into the current breaks.
Bridges, docks and lights
For big snook, FWC's researchers point to bridges over the Intracoastal and the inside of inlets. Fish the first two or three hours of the outgoing tide at night: anchor up-current and cast a live ladyfish, pinfish or grunt to the base of the pilings. Days with four tides fish better than days with two. At dock lights, fish the edge of the light, not the middle. Black drum hang around docks and bridge pilings, sheepshead around seawalls and oyster bars, and tarpon around bridges and pilings. NOAA publishes tidal-current predictions at most of the bay's bridges and passes, so you can time the strongest flow.
Winter creeks, bayous and canals
After a front, look for snook up Phillippi Creek, Hudson and Whitaker bayous, the Grand Canal and the Venice creeks; FWC's Tampa Bay guide puts snook in canals, tidal creeks and other deep, warm water in the cool months. Use lures fished slowly, come in quietly, and if you spook the fish, come back about 30 minutes later, because winter snook don't move far. Young tarpon use this low-salinity water too. Idle in and out: these creeks and bayous are year-round slow-speed manatee zones.
Sheepshead and black drum on structure
For sheepshead, FWC suggests live shrimp, sand fleas or fiddler crabs on a small hook on the bottom. For black drum, it's cut bait, shrimp, sand fleas or blue crab, kept on the bottom around oyster beds, docks and bridge pilings. Mind the sheepshead's sharp gill covers when you clean them.
The bay reefs
Run to an FWC-listed bay reef (most are in 10 to 15 feet), find the modules on the sounder, and anchor on bare sand up-current so the boat settles over the structure, never on the grass. The Sarasota Bay Estuary Program's monitoring recorded gray snapper and sheepshead on the bay reefs and gag in several of the newer modules, which are meant as homes for young reef fish, so release small gag gently. FWC warns that reef material can move, break down or get buried, and that some listed positions are historical or unverified. These are the easy trips when the Gulf is too rough.
Spanish mackerel and pompano
Watch for birds diving on bait. Cast or troll small shiny spoons, dusters or jigs on light spinning or baitcasting tackle with 10- to 15-pound line and a 30- to 60-pound mono leader, because their teeth cut light line (FWC). Pompano feed on small shellfish and crustaceans, sand fleas above all, over sandy beaches, oyster bars and grass, often in murky water. Work the bottom along the pass edges on moving water during the spring and fall runs.
Tarpon
Use a long, heavy mono leader, because a tarpon's gill plate and tail cut light line, and tackle heavy enough to land the fish quickly: FWC says to bring a big fish alongside within about 20 minutes and never to drag one over the gunwale. FWC also recommends against fishing for tarpon from bridges or piers, because a big fish can't be landed there without leaving it a long trailing line.
Releasing fish, and fishing around dolphins
Use non-stainless, non-offset circle hooks with natural bait, a dehooking tool, wet hands, support for the fish's weight and as little time out of the water as you can (FWC). Sarasota Bay has resident bottlenose dolphins, and the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program asks anglers never to feed them or throw bait when they're near, to reel in and move if they show interest, to release fish quietly away from them, and to stay at least 50 yards off. The Sarasota Bay Estuary Program asks anglers to use monofilament rather than braid unless they really need braid, because braid can cut dolphins, manatees and birds. Drop old line in a monofilament recycling bin.