Tampa & Pass-A-Grille Fishing Guide

Flounder! The Fall bite is in full swing. Bait is plentiful, and the fish are cooperative. At least, they were until that last big cold front… The Rays finish Game 5 of the World Series tonight. I’ve got tickets for Game 6. Stay tuned.

The Amazing Tampa Bay Rays continue this incredible season with a huge 4-2 win in Game 2 of the World Series last night at the Trop. The place was rockin, and Shields pitched a great game. Nobody expressed interest in my spare ticket - too bad, you missed a good time. Stretch Hummer limo, prime rib buffet, great seats close to the action- we had a great time. But the important thing is- we won! Now we head to Philly, where I predict the Ray’s bats will go wild. GO RAYS!

Oh, yeah… this is a fishing blog. I’ll try to get a line wet this weekend and have a report for Monday.

In just a few hours, Game 1 of the World Series starts. I’ll be in Section 109 (Loge Box) taking in all the action as the amazing Rays continue this unbelievable season. But, if anyone reading this needs a ticket for tomorrow, I have one for sale….

Actually, I’ve got two tickets for Game 2. The first is in Whitney Bank Club, section 106, right behind home plate. Wide leather seats, unlimited beer and wine, exclusive buffet… a great way to experience the game. First $875 takes it. The other seat is… well…. pretty much the best in Tropicana Field. It’s in the Home Plate Club, Section 107, 3rd Row.  Private entrance, full buffet, leather seats, waitress, and a chance to be seen on TV; yes, it’s just a few feet from the Philly’s On Deck Circle. $1,500 buys it- this is the same Section that’s going for $2500 - $5000 on StubHub. If you’re interested, email me ASAP at steve@tampafishing.net . I’m only selling one, and then using the other.

GO RAYS!!!

What a weekend! After a tough game Friday, I was wired for a Rays win on Saturday. Cap’t. Dick and I headed to Tropicana Field Saturday evening, and, sure enough, we had the best seats in the house - right behind the plate, and next to the on-deck circle. Evan Longoria warms up before going yard:

It’s a good thing we had comfortable seats… because it was a long game. 5 hours, 27 minutes. The Trop was ROCKING, and the Rays fans were loud from start to finish. We came from behind three times, to win in the 11th inning. The celebration:

It was, perhaps, the Rays best game of the entire, incredible 2008 season. I finally dragged home around 2:30 a.m.. By 8 a.m., I was helping Capt’ Dick load up the boat. Tim, Joe, Dave and I then headed out in search of mackerel. We had solid reports that bait, birds and macs were tearing up the beach on Saturday. Well, it was pretty quiet on Sunday. We trolled hardware from the Pass-A-Grille tripod up to Blind Pass and back, and only managed a couple macks and 1 kingfish.

Switching strategies, we headed inside, and saw diving birds by the Tierra Verde bridge. Sure enough, the Spanish mackerel were there, skyrocketing through schools of glass minnows. We ended up with a dozen or so for the smoker, along with a few hard pulling Jack’s in the 10 lb range. A fun day, and a great weekend.

OK, so fishing was a little slow last weekend. And my report is a little late. Tim and I caught a couple snapper, a grouper or two, a single flounder and a lonely mac. Forget all that. The real story is the Tampa Bay Rays! I’ve got a ticket for Saturday night’s game Ray’s game RIGHT behind home plate. I’m talking 3 rows from the action. Wide leather seats, full free buffet & beer, private entrance… the works! Yup, I got lucky in the ALCS lottery, and I guess I hit TicketMaster at just the right time. GO, RAYS!!!