OK, yeah… I’ve been slacking. I know I’m overdue for a fishing update, so – bait was slow arriving, not showing up until late spring. Drum and redfish have moved on, and snapper have moved in. Here’s what we’ve been up to:
After a VERY long hiatus, I finally got offshore on Running with Scissors, a 10 meter Trojan, with Harris, Capt. Dick and the crew. Conditions could not have been more perfect, with calm seas, warm temps and a light breeze. We anchored, set up a chumline and immediately started catching yellowtail snapper. It wasn’t long before the ‘critically endangered’ amberjacks and goliath grouper joined the party. When we had a snapper hooked, the real battle was getting it past the barracuda, AJ’s and hungry goliaths. All in all, a great trip, and we’re already making plans for the next one- a full moon overnighter.
Fishing this spring has been hit and miss. There really haven’t been any spectacular days, and some days I’ve left the Pier empty handed. But we have seen a variety of catches, including snook, black drum, short grouper, jacks, and even a couple flounder. Best bet has been sheepshead – lots of them around this year, mostly on the smaller side.
We’ve reached the slowest time of the year for Pass-A-Grille fishing, as the bait has left, the water temps are in the low 60’s, and cold fronts blow through weekly. Still, there are some fish to be caught.
Sorry for the long delay. Here’s what’s been happening since my last post:
The last few weeks have been boom-or-bust for Pass-A-Grille fishing, as a red tide outbreak has visited the area sporadically. There’s still plenty of bait around, with Spanish mackerel, jacks and ladyfish hammering the schools. The snapper bite is trailing off, but a few larger snapper still lurk by the pilings. Snook have been scarce, as have been redfish and drum. The flounder bite is starting to pick up, a good indication that it could be a banner Fall.
Meanwhile, red tide has bloomed to the south, with some reports of medium concentrations in South Pinellas County. There have been a lot of dead fish visible at high tide, and the smell of red tide is evident on some days. With a steady North wind forecast over the next week, the dead fish and red tide should clear out soon.
This is my friend Scott’s son, with an 8 foot sturgeon – an amazing catch, but NOT caught in Florida:
Sunday I fished at Merry Pier with Juan, Mike and Joe. Between us, we caught and released nearly 50 redfish over a 2 hours period! The school was mostly smaller fish, ranging from about 14″ to 24″. The bite was so crazy, Joe was even catching them on his newly-fashioned cane pole. Shrimp, Jennys, greeenbacks – they bit everything. There were even some flounder, black drum and snapper mixed in. We did keep our limit of redfish – one per person per day. While catching the occasional redfish at Merry Pier is not unusual, I’ve never seen action like this. What an awesome day!
The dog days of summer are upon us – and the fishing is great! Hanging out at Merry Pier with Juan, Mike, Roger, Kiven, Joe, Dick, Carter and the rest of the locals, we’ve been hauling in snapper – lots of snapper! Some big ‘uns, too. Along with grouper, snook, flounder, sharks, macks and more. See for yourself:
Been travelling – just got back from AZ, so no report. But, I do have a few recent photos to add:
Spent the last few weekends fishing at Merry Pier in Pass-A-Grille. Plenty of glass minnows, but the whitebait and greenbacks have yet to make an appearance. As always, wind, tides and water clarity are big factors in how strong the bite is. Overall, it has not been spectacular, but the variety has been amazing, including gag and red grouper, snook, sheepshead, redfish, mangrove snapper, black drum, flounder, Spanish mackerel, lane snapper and more. Each week should continue to improve. A few recent catches:
