Tampa & Pass-A-Grille Fishing Guide

So, I have the need to fish. Headed down to Pass-A-Grille, figuring I’d take the half day trip on Miss Pass-A-Grille. It was breezy and chilly, despite the forecast. Both the Captain and the Mate warn me that it’s been really slow since the cold snap last weekend, but I fuigure.. why not?

On the first drop, I nailed a small grey snapper (aka key west grunt, aka white grunt). Normally, I’d have thrown it back, but- if it’s slow, I’ll take what I can get. Long story short, four drops later, and I’ve got is a squirelfish- so, I throw the sorry excuse for a grunt back, and head home empty handed. There were a few decent grunts, and a couple of triggerfish caught- even a short gag grouper- but that’s the sum totla for a couple dozen fisherman. Looking forward to March 17, when I’m off to the wreck of the Bayronto, and some serious fishing- for a change!!!

…but I went anyway. No sign of snook. No sign of sheepshead. No sign of redfish. The final tally- a dozen shrimp produce a few (smallish) whiting. Probably could have gotten a bucketful, but… it was WAY too cold for fishing!

Saturday at Merry Pier was a wee bit frustrating- to say the least. With gin clear water, you could see snook stacked up under the dock like cordwood. They just weren’t chewing- at all. Nada. Plenty of sheepshead around, and the same story.

So, Sunday I headed to Joe’s dock on the Pass-A-Grille Channel side of Vina Del Mar (aka Mud Island) with ’bout 7 dozen shrimp and high hopes. Tossing the small shrimp out to a rockpile in about 20′ of water, it was only a matter of seconds before a hit- but the hits were from a plethora of pinfish, squirrelfish, lizardfish, and a few small lane snapper. One short gag eventually hit, but that was about it. Undersized sheepshead were abundant, but not inclined to hit- even when presented with barnacles and fiddler crabs. Altogether a pretty tough weekend for fishing.

The good news- I’ll be headed out to the wreck of the Bayronto out of Boca Grande on ‘Running With Scissors’ with Harris on March 3 and again on March 17. No luck inshore? Time to head offshore!

Well, I tried to get a snook for the big game… no luck, though. Saw ‘em- just couldn’t get ‘em to bite. I saw redfish too, with similiar results. Sheepshead were the only cooperative fish, and they weren’t all that enthusiastic. Think it’s time to try a few new spots- maybe hit the docks over on Vina Del Mar (mud islnad). Yeah, that’s the ticket…