Archive for November, 2008

The Sheepshead Are In!

Monday, November 24th, 2008

Saturday was perhaps the most brutal 5 hours of fishing I’ve endured in a long time. Temps hovered in the low 40’s, and a steady, constant and bitingly cold North wind blew at around 25 knots. Needless to say, the fish weren’t biting. It was… not fun.

Sunday proved much better, as the sheepshead have begun their invasion of Boca Ciega Bay. I caught several, and saw lots more hauled in, including some big ones- 4 or 5 pound fish. Post front the flounder and grouper were pretty much shut down, so the sheepies were a nice change of pace.

I have a report of some big catch and release trout biting in the Belle Vista neighborhood of St. Pete Beach. There were a couple of big redfish hanging around the Merry Pier and the 7th Ave. Pier in Pass-A-Grille. The snook appear to have now moved out of Blind Pass, and there’s no sign of sheepshead there. Things are definitely changing. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s biting over the long Thanksgiving weekend!

Too Windy to Go Offshore

Thursday, November 20th, 2008

It looks like another front is headed our way. I had planned to go out on Miss Pass-A-Grille for the full day trip Saturday, but winds are forecast for 15-20 knots, so… looks like I’ll be grouper and flounder fishing on the Pier instead.

Gags, Goliaths & More

Monday, November 17th, 2008

tampafishing-grouper

Saturday was beautiful – warm, sunny, perfect for a day of South Pinellas fishing. My friend David was in from Denver, so we met up at the Merry Pier in St. Pete Beach Saturday morning. With the full moon, the tides were unusually low… and still going out. Strong. I managed to net some whitebait, and we bought a few nice shrimp at the tackle store.

First up were Mangrove Snapper. I hadn’t seen any keepers in a month or so, but I nailed 3 legal size right off the bat, along with a few smaller specimens. Next, the gag grouper started biting. Between David and I, we probably caught a couple dozen. As the water cools, the larger gags begin to move into shallower water, and sure enough, I managed to catch a legal 22 1/2 inch grouper (see picture above). I had a few big hits, which ended in cut-offs or broken line, and I figured they were either big gags or snook responsible. But I may have been wrong:

tampafishing-goliath-grouper

An unidentified fisherman was on Merry Pier sporting some serious stand-up gear – huge reel, heavy mono, a rod built like a pool cue…  I assumed he was either shark fishing, or clueless. I was wrong on both counts. As I was packing my gear, his rod bowed over and he was straining to keep a huge fish in check. It tore drag, and he skillfully kept it out of the pilings. After a brief but epic battle, he brought a big Goliath Grouper to the surface. This fish had a mouth like a 5 gallon bucket, and was solid muscle. It was released unharmed before it could be measured or weighed; but I’d guess it was a good 30 pounds. So, that might explain some of my cut-offs and break-offs in recent months…

Sunday was brutal. North winds at 25 knots, temps in the 50’s. But the flounder were biting none-the-less. My friend Mike, along with his brothers from Detroit, managed a nice meess of keeper flounder up to about 18 inches. They were still catching them when I left to host a party for the Buc’s game (we won, and everybody enjoyed fresh blackened grouper fillets).

Flounder Time

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

It’s been several years since we’ve had a decent flounder run; in fact, since the big red tide a few years ago. But it looks like this year’s different. Flounder large and small are making an appearance in area bays and passes. And on the Merry Pier in St. Pete Beach, where I caught several this weekend, up to about 21″.

Flounder prefer a moving tide, as they lie on the bottom and wait to ambush their prey. Whitebait is plentiful right now, so net a few up and bump them along the bottom with a small hook, a fluorocarbon leader, and just enough weight to keep the bait in the strike zone. The bite tends to be in the form of a solid ‘thump’ on the line… and, well, that’s usually it. Set the hook immediately, and you risk pulling the bait out of the flounder’s mouth. Give them a few seconds, and you’ll increase your catch rate considerably.

Flounder fillets are outstanding, either fried or stuffed with crabmeat. We had a few friends join us for the Buc’s game Sunday (an amazing overtime win), and enjoyed fresh stone crab claws, fresh grouper fillets, fresh fried flounder, two kinds of fish spread… a regular seafood extravaganza.