- Access
- By boat or from shore
- Best months
- January to November
- Species
- Snook, Sheepshead, Mangrove (gray) snapper, Redfish (red drum), Flounder, Spanish mackerel, Black drum
The channel off the bay side of Pass-a-Grille at the south end of St. Pete Beach, between lower Boca Ciega Bay and the Gulf. FWC's Tampa Bay guide lists the Merry Pier, the 7th Avenue and 11th Avenue fishing piers and the Pass-a-Grille fishing jetty here, which makes it one of the bay's better spots without a boat. NOAA publishes current predictions for the channel.
How to fish it
Fish the pilings, seawalls and dock edges on moving water: shrimp, sand fleas or fiddler crabs on small hooks for sheepshead in late winter and spring and for snapper in summer, and live bait or plugs along the shadow lines at night for snook. Throw spoons or jigs for Spanish mackerel when birds are working bait.
Watch out for: A busy channel with strong tidal flow. There are slow-speed, minimum-wake zones where the Pinellas Bayway bridges cross the Intracoastal Waterway nearby. The piers get crowded and seabirds hang around them: if you hook one, reel it in, unhook it and let it go rather than cutting the line.
Rules here: Shore and pier anglers need a saltwater license or the free resident shoreline license unless they're exempt. The city sets pier hours and rules. It's inside the Boca Ciega Bay Aquatic Preserve. The rules to check in Tampa Bay inshore waters