Clearwater/Big Pier 60 Fishing Report 11/22/09

“The big story is flounder. There’s more than I’ve ever seen. Most of them are 14-15 inches with some up to 19 inches and many 17-18 inch fish being caught as well. Many anglers are catching their limit of 10 fish a day on shrimp, small sardines, and squid,” reports Tom Leonard of Big Pier 60 Bait & Tackle (727-462-6466). pier60fishing.com

Fishing has been great for Spanish mackerel up to 20 inches first thing in morning. Kingfish up to 15 lbs are being caught, with the occasional kingfish flipping rods over the rail, and spooling a few anglers as well. A few large fish have actually been landed by the experience regulars, Leonard said.

Whiting and silver trout starting to show up. The whiting have been averaging about 12-13 inches. Silver trout are also starting to show. Live shrimp, cut pieces of shrimp, and squid have been productive for both fish. Snook are still being caught. On Friday three slot size fish were caught at night within a half hour. Most of the snook are being caught on small live ladyfish. Speckled trout are still a solid bite, but most anglers not really targeting them since the season is closed, Leonard reports.

There’s also lot of bluefish being caught on spoons and live bait. Sheepshead are also starting bite consistently on crabs and shrimp down around the pilings. Most of the sheepshead are just legal size, the big fish haven’t shown up in any numbers just yet. “There’s also lots of odds and ends such as spadefish, magrove snapper, and short grouper being caught sporadically. There’s also still a lot of small sharks such as bonnet heads, spinners, and black tips, being caught. Water temperature on Sunday was 75 degrees. Pier hours are now Sunday-Thursday 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday 24 hours, reports Leonard.