Tampa & Pass-A-Grille Fishing Guide

Pictured above is a nice 24″ grouper my friend Mike pulled in yesterday from the Merry Pier in St. Pete Beach. It hit a live shrimp with a couple split shot about 20″ off the dock. I caught a few smaller grouper, but no keepers.

The snapper bite is red hot right now. The fish are running a little small, with most in the 9-11″ range. There are a few 12″ to 14″ fish mixed in, if you have the patience to weed through the smaller ones. They are hitting just about everything, with live shrimp and small whitebait being the top choices. I probably caught over 50 this weekend, and although I didn’t keep any, I would have had no trouble putting together a quick limit.

There are still snook hanging around the Pier, and now that the season has closed, they seem to be a lot easier to catch. Sunrise, and after dark are the best times to hook a bruiser linesider. The snook have also been active in Blind Pass. I saw one today that would have gone at least 40″.

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Fishing was a little slow after the full moon, and the weekend storms didn’t help. So, I figured I’d check the statistics for Tampa Fishing. Do you realize that over the last year, this website has:

• Over 60,000 Visitors
• Over 125,000 Page Views

The average visitor spends 3 minutes, 27 seconds on the site. And, tampafishing.net ranks for, and receives search engine traffic, for over 3,500 different search terms.

So, my question is…. who’s there?  It’s free to register. You can leave comments by simply clicking the “Comments” link following each post. So, make your presence known. Ask a question. Leave a fishing report. Share a seafood recipe. Point out a spelling error. Whatever.  Just stop lurking and join TampaFishing.Net!

Cap’t Dick’s 25′ Grady White just got back from the shop, so it was time for a little shakedown cruise. Sunday morning, Joe, Pat, and I gathered at Dick’s, geared up and headed west. The Gulf was perfect - just enough breeze to keep the heat down, but not enough to kick up waves. It stayed flat the entire day- and what an AWESOME day it was!

We hit the usual bait spots, loading up on pinfish, cigar minnows and  Spanish sardines. We set out for some structure in the 100′ range that usually holds amberjack. When we arrived around noon, another boat was anchored right on the spot, hauling up fish. We motored around until the bottom finder lit up, then dropped pinfish. The amberjack were there, and they were hungry. We quickly boated our limit of these hard-fighting fish.

Next on the agenda were grouper and snapper. We headed for a nearby ledge, dropped a marker, and made a quick drift. We were quickly hammered by some big gags, so we set the anchor and proceeded to haul in red grouper, gags, and mangrove snapper. The action was steady until the tide slacked. We picked up a few more stragglers, then headed to a break in 80′ for the final stop of the day.

With two days till the full moon, the snapper were thick and hungry. We bagged some nice, tasty mangos, and added a couple more grouper to the box. The bottom was thick with fish. We threw back some big Key West grunts, triggerfish and even a yellowtail snapper, although the American red snapper remained elusive.

We arrived back at Dick’s shortly after sunset and started filleting. The final tally was:

4 Amberjack
3 Gag Grouper
1 Scamp Grouper
2 Red Grouper
11 Mangrove Snapper

Not bad for a shakedown cruise! Thanks again to Dick, Pat and Joe for an incredible fishing trip.

Lots of fish this weekend, but nothing to brag about. The summer fishing patterns are taking shape, with cooler mornings, blazing hot afternoons, and evening thunderstorms, with no fronts in sight. The haul this weekend included bluefish, blue runners, mangrove snapper, gag and red grouper, TONS of lane snapper, key west grunts (yes, they’re right off the pier!), spanish macs, and a few others that escape my recollection. Pictured above is a nice snook that slammed a frozen sardine a few feet in front of the Merry Pier. Everybody got excited during the battle, expecting a huge grouper- kinda’ funny when a snook like this is actually a bit of a disappointment!

Conventional wisdom says you need a boat for grouper fishing. And, yes, the bite is strong now in 70′ to 140′. But, it’s also good standing on the Merry Pier on 8th Avenue in St. Pete Beach. Of course, there were plently of snapper and mackerel around, even a few sheepshead. But the highlight this weekend was grouper:

There were big greenbacks- and I mean BIG, like 6″-7″- that were popping on the surface soon after sunrise. Although they were scattered, it was possible to get a few with a sabiki. And they were just the ticket for big grouper, like the 23″ and 24″ pair pictured above.

Sunday’s fish fry brought over a dozen guests, who dined on blackened grouper fillets, panko crusted deep fried grouper fingers, and a grouper-peppers-onion-sausage creation, along with salad, veggies and pasta. Yum- gotta love fresh grouper!

Memorial Day weekend brought some great fishing opportunities. I caught tons of grouper and snapper at the Merry Pier on Saturday and Sunday. But the real fun was on Monday, when I was joined by Cap’t. Dick and three of his friends for an extended day trip offshore on the Getaway.

We were all a bit hung over, and the seas were unforgiving in the morning. After a couple of quick bait stops, we had a bumpy run in 2-4 footers out to 105′ due west of the Don Cesar. First up on the agenda- amberjack! As soon as the engines were cut, and a handful of greenbacks thrown out, the reef donkeys appeared in force. A freelined live bait was taked immediately, and the fight was on. We quickly boxed our limit of 5 fish, up to about 35 pounds. My arms still ache.

Next up - grouper and snapper. We made a few drifts, and a few anchor sets. There was a nice show of fish at each stop, but the bite was a bit slow. No problem- we still managed plenty. Using a variety of baits including cigar minnows, pinfish, lizard fish and whitebait, as well as frozen sardines, we managed 2 keeper reds, 3 nice gags, 4 large mangrove snapper and a giant lane snapper.

As always, the Captain and crew on the Getaway were fantastic, working hard to make sure everybody had a great time and caught plenty of fish. The boat performed flawlessly in some fairly demanding conditions. And the weather was perfect, except for that pesky 15-20 knot East wind.

So, tonight it’s grilled amberjack, and tomorrow fresh grouper fillets. Thursday will be a snapper dinner, then anything left (and there will be plenty left) will be vacumn sealed for the deep freeze.

And, just so eveybody knows that not ALL of the big grouper are offshore… here’s a 23″ gag that was caught Sunday morning on the Merry Pier, using frozen sardines:

In typical May style, the Merry Pier in St. Peterburg is loaded with grouper and mangrove snapper. And they’re highly cooperative. Fishing on Saturday, I managed a limit of snapper, and threw back over a dozen. Gag grouper, ranging from a foot up to 19″, were mixed in. They were hitting live, tail hooked shrimp, small pinfish and mud minnows.

Sunday was more of the same, and I stopped counting after 30 fish. I got slammed a couple of times, but the big grouper made short work of my 20 pound test spiderwire. Interesting, for the third week in a row, I caught ‘the’ tagged grouper again. Same spot, same time, same bait, same technique- and the same fish. I also saw a tagged snapper caught- but the tag was half missing. Poor thing had probably been mobbed by the rest of the school, and they chewed the tag off.

There was a giant sheepshead prowling the pilings, but I couldn’t tempt him into biting. Tarpon continue to roll in the mornings, and there are lots of jacks around- but surprisingly few macks, for some reason. I landed a couple of huge filefish- maybe next time I’ll remember to snap a picture.

Sunday evening’s fish fry consisted of beer battered grouper fillets, and blackeded redfish. I’m cleaning out the freezer, now that the snapper are back in force!

As the water continues to heat up, so does the fishing. I spent a few hours both Saturday and Sunday hanging out at the Merry Pier in St. Pete Beach. Live shrimp was the bait of choice. The technique- tail hook a medium shrimp on a #2 Owner hook with a foot of 30″ flourocarbon leader and a 1/4 ounce weight, and drop down next to the pilings of the Pier. And I mean RIGHT next to the pilings- a foot or two away, and you’d get no action.

The bite consisted almost entirely of gag grouper and mangrove snapper (no snook around, although I did pull in a 20″ filefish). The snapper bite was the typical tap-tap-tap, while the grouper would announce their presence with a heavy ‘thud’. My friend Tim ventured down from Tampa on Sunday, and we probably caught 50+ fish between the two of us. The grouper ran to around 19″ (no keepers- yet), and the snapper were in the 8-12″ range. Plenty of keepers mixed in with the smaller fish. Pictured above was a fat 16″ mangrove snapper that I caught on Saturday.

Tarpon were rolling, although individually and not in schools. Lots of Mac’s were popping the clouds of glass minnows that hung by the dock, but they seemed oblivious to a freelined shrimp. Odd. A manatee family grazed by the pilings north of the pier. I had a report of a ‘true black’ grouper caught on the dock last week- very unusual for inshore, and much rarer than the occassional red grouper that I pull in. There were a few Jack Cravelle caught, but no big schools showing yet. Won’t be long, though…

It’s a great time of the year to be a Florida fisherman! The weather is fantastic, the water is clear, and the fish are biting. Fishing this weekend in St. Petes Beach, I caught, hooked, or saw just about everything that swims. How’s this list:

-Grouper
-Mangrove Snapper
-Lane Snapper
-Snook
-Sheepshead
-Spanish Mackerel
-Sailor’s Delight
-Atlantic Spadefish
-Ladyfish
-Jack Crevalle
-And the usual trash fish

I caught my first tagged fish ever- a 12″ gag grouper. Tarpon were rolling within 30 feet of Merry Pier. I had a few ‘freight train’ hits that must remain unidentified. Yes, it’s a great time of the year…

On a different note… my company is participating in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life on May 16. This 18 hour event raises funds for cancer education, treatment and prevention programs, and is a VERY worthy cause. This marks the third year that we have participated. If you’re reading this, I would invite you to come to the event (Stetson University, Gulfport Florida) or make an online donation. Any help is greatly appreciated. Here’s a link: http://main.acsevents.org/site/[...]team&fr_id=4974

So, I had a big hunk of grouper to cook this weekend. Cap’t. Dick provided an outstanding recipe. In a large aluminum pan, add 2 cups of chicken broth. Place grouper fillets in broth, and season with Everglades seasoning. Cover the fillets with sliced onions, green peppers, tomatoes and mushrooms. Cover with aluminum foil, and place on the grill at medium heat for about 45 minutes. Enjoy!

So, it was a glorious weekend for fishing- lots of sunshine, clear water, ample bait, decent tides. I hit Merry Pier Saturday mornign, stocked up on select shrimp, and freelined a big one under the pier on a 7′ Star rod and Shimano 6500 Baitrunner spooled with 20′ mono. BAM! 1 shrimp, 1 snook. It came in just under legal size at 27″, so back it went. Only snook of the day, as it turns out. There were lots hanging around, easy to spot in the gin clear water. There was a scool of about 30 cruising around, including some real bruisers, but they weren’t chewing. Think I’ll try again this week after sundown.

But, while the snook were reluctant to bite, the grouper were not. I must have caught two dozen, up to about 19″. They were in the pilings, under the dock, and in the rockpiles in front of the pier. Even caught a couple of red grouper! Spanish Mackeral were patrolling in packs, occassionally slashing through the schools of glass minnows. I caught a few nice jacks, always fun for a fight.

Another encouraging sign was my first mangrove snapper of the year- a fiesty foot long specimen. I saw a few more hovering around- soon, they’ll be so thick that they’re a nuisance. Also, I saw a guy pull up a 17″ pompano that hit a live shrimp on the outgoing tide. He was only fishing about 30 feet in front of the pier. Yes, it’s that time of year- everything starting to fire up!