It is hot. Storms keep building in the afternoon from Weeki Wachee down through the Tampa beaches. You can keep one snook if it is the right size. The Gulf is almost flat.
Nature Coast
What is being caught: redfish, trout, and some snook.
Redfish are the most consistent. Look along the shoreline where there is shade from trees. Fish when the water is moving, not sitting still. Use a piece of cut bait or a live bait and put it close to that shoreline.
Around the small outer islands, the better time is when the tide is coming in. That is when redfish move up onto the edges.
Trout are biting while the tide is going out. Look in water about 3 to 6 feet deep where there is grass on a hard bottom. A popping cork with a small soft plastic lure under it is a simple setup. Near Weeki Wachee, the very shallow water has been too warm, so trout have been a little deeper, closer to 8 to 10 feet.
Snook season is open through November. You may keep 1 snook per person, and it has to be between 28 and 33 inches. There are not many around. A lot of the ones people are catching are too small to keep. The better place to try is where a creek empties out, while the tide is going out. Early morning, before the sun is high, is better than midday.
Go at daylight. Leave when the afternoon storms start.
Suncoast
Waves are about 1 foot or less. Rip currents are low. The water is still in the upper 80s.
What is being caught from the beach: snook, whiting, and a few Spanish mackerel. Just behind the beach: redfish, trout, and some flounder. Pompano and bluefish are not showing.
Snook are the main fish on the sand right now, early in the morning, near the passes and in the breaking waves. Whiting are eating shrimp in the first trough. Spanish mackerel show up if bait is breaking the surface near a pass or just off the beach.
Redfish are along the tree line following baitfish. Trout are in those same areas. After the recent rain, the water cooled a little and that fishing got better.
If you are standing on the sand, cast into the first trough. Fresh shrimp will catch most of what is there. If you do not see small baitfish along the beach, move to a pass.
Pompano usually get easier after the water cools in the fall.
Check current size and bag limits before you keep a fish.