Tampa & Pass-A-Grille Fishing Guide

Despite the cooler September weather, the fishing in South St. Pete Beach remains hot for a variety of species. Trout, Snook, grouper, flounder, Spanish Mackerel and mangrove snapper are all active now.

I had planned to head offshore on Saturday with Dick, JoeMama, Tim and Pat. But, alas, I awoke to rain and lightning, and the trip was cancelled. Good thing, as the storms lasted all day and into the evening. I headed instead for Merry Pier, on 8th Avenue in St. Pete Beach. To my surprise, there were quite a few diehards out fishing, including Mike from Michigan, who had landed a couple keeper flounder. I managed a bunch of grouper, and got NAILED by a few snook underneaththe dock. Sunday was more of the same, with a steady bite throughout the morning.  Here’s Angelo with a big Merry Pier snapper from last weekend:

Maybe it’s the tides. Maybe it’s the temperature. Maybe it’s the moon phase. In any event, this time of year it’s best to get an early start for the best fishing action. And when I say early- I mean well before sunrise.

I met with Tim from Tampa for some early morning fishing this weekend. We tore up the snapper and grouper till around 9 or so, then the bite tapered off quickly… and never did pick up again. But for an hous or two around sunrise, everything was biting – mangrove snapper, undersized grouper, flounder, jacks, mackerel, small sharks, spadefish, and even my first catfish of the year.

Once more, the snapper were running large. I kept 4 Saturday, and another 4 Sunday, while releasing dozens of fish up to a foot. This weekend we enjoyed snapper in parchment; sausage and snapper; and snapper fettuccine Alfredo. Good stuff!

Saturday produced ideal fishing conditions in St. Pete Beach – strong tides, clear water, moderate temperatures and a perfect summer breeze. Using cut frozen sardines drifted under the Merry Pier, Cap’t Dick and I secured a couple limits of big mangrove snapper, most in the 15″ range. The snapper bite remained strong until massive schools of pinfish, grunts and tomtates began to appear.

Grouper were also abundant, including a 21″ near-keeper that was hanging out on a ledge.  As usual, big macks were harassing the bait schools (still small whitebait), and big snook occasionally shot out from under the dock through the bait.

Meanwhile, Tim from Tampa was blowing bubbles in the Keys, and bringing up some nice bugs:

I had some fun this weekend fishing in Pass-a-Grille. I was joined by my neighbor Miles, along with the usual cast of characters (Mike, Dick, Tim). There were big macks popping the bait (which is still really really small for some reason). Snook lurked under the pier. The snapper were biting, although not with much gusto. I was after grouper- the one pictured above was 21″,  just under the minimum.

Overall, it was pretty slow, though a few brief showers kept it from getting too warm. The bite was off, probably a combination of bad tides, and the full moon a couple days earlier.

The Offshore Hustler did ok, bringing in some grouper and a nice kingfish:

Saturday marked the 2nd Annual Mike Alstott Fishing Tournament, featuring inshore, offshore, ladies and youth divisions. Weather conditions were good, and at 6 a.m. Cap’t. Dick headed west with a boatload of hopeful fishermen.

Our first stop was in around 100′. We anchored over some great looking structure; see for yourself:

We caught a small amberjack, and a few reef fish, when the sharks and barracuda showed up- in force. We caught shark after shark, finally deciding to move. We drifted a spot, hooked and lost a decent amberjack, and headed to a ledge which generally holds grouper.

Our first 30 minutes at the ledge proved very productive. I caught a legal American Red Snapper, and soon the red grouper fired up:

The were nailing live pinfish and frozen sardines with a bit of squid. The biggest came in around 12 pounds:

I caught a decent kingfish, and a big lane snapper to add to the collection. The spot eventually slowed, and we headed for a wreck in about 70′. On the way, we saw diving birds and busting fish. In the depth we were at, blackfin tuna were a possibility, so we stopped and tossed a couple baits out. Bam! No tuna, just bonita. Oh, well.

The final spot was unproductive, so we headed back early, and were on the dock before 4. It was a great day, with a fine crew, and we caught some quality fish.

Fishing conditions were great over the 4th of July weekend! The Merry Pier at 8th Avenue in St. Pete Beach was crowded with fisherman, with plenty of types of fish being caught. I saw mangrove snapper, snook, gag grouper, flounder, Spanish mackerel, bonnethead sharks and more. The water was clear, and the morning tides were unusually high.  Bait is becoming more plentiful, and larger, too.

There were plenty of kids around having fun. Here’s a nice mackerel landed by an enthusiastic young fisherman:

Plenty of regulars were on the Merry Pier this weekend, including David from Denver, Mike for Michigan, Tim from Tampa, Cap’t. Joe, Cap’t. Dick, and more. JayT was down from Virgina, and tearing up the snapper:

The plan for next weekend is to fish the offshore portion of the 2nd Annual Mike Alstott Charity Fishing Tournament.

The Offshore Hustler came back with a nice mixed bag, including:

The Merry Pier in southern Pinellas County was busy this weekend. Grouper, snook, snapper & macks were caught, although the sluggish tides made for some slow fishing.

The surprise this weekend was the return of the redfish. There were two caught, and both were over the slot, around 30″. Several big fish were broken off, either more big reds or perhaps big grouper.

The weather has kept me inshore for a while- hopefully the 4th of July weekend will be better.

Big mangrove snapper have invaded the piers, docks and structure of Boca Ciega Bay. While smaller fish are the norm inshore in June, this year some quality fish are showing up. Here’s a nice 18″ mango that was caught by a gentleman at Merry Pier on Saturday:

Fishing this weekend with Tim, who made the trip over to the beaches from Tampa, we nailed a nice limit of big mangos, to 17″. They weren’t too picky, hitting everything from frozen sardine tails to small greenbacks to freelined tomtates to live shrimp.

Overall, the fishing was pretty good. We caught 15 or 20 grouper (to 20″), along with dozens of big macks. A 23″ keeper gag grouper was pulled out from under the pier, and there were plenty of snook around once the current started running.

So, here’s blackened snapper and fried snapper…. the BEFORE shot….:

Summer patterns are in full swing in Tampa Bay and Boca Ciega Bay. Bait is becoming plentiful, water temps are on the rise, and the fish are getting active.

I managed to get in several hours of fishing Saturday, Sunday and Monday, starting at around 7:30 a.m at the Merry Pier in St. Pete Beach. Other that a few showers on Saturday, the weather was perfect, and the dock was pretty crowded. While there were plenty of snook and Spanish macs around, I was targeting grouper, using whole frozen sardines on the incoming tide.

Seems that the grouper were hanging underneath the pier, and also on the ledge just north of the pier. I was slammed several times under the dock by a presumed goliath grouper which has been hanging around. And I managed to pull in plenty of 15″ to 21″ gag grouper, while losing some REALLY big fish. Here’s a 23″ gag that didn’t get away:

Mike (from Michigan) and his brothers were slaying the macks- not big fish, but plenty of 10″ to 15″  ones- lots of fun on light tackle.  There was a school of snook hanging out under a bait school in the shallows, and several decent sheepshead nipped at the pilings.  There were reports of big sharks hooked, as well as some big flounder. All in all, a great weekend for getting outdoors!

My friend Harris and I had been talking about putting together a full moon snapper trip for a while. Friday was perfect. Full moon. No wind. Warm water. Good tides. So, we headed out around 7:30 p.m. Friday night.

Harris and I were joined by Tim from Tampa, Al and Todd. We geared up with plenty of tackle, bait and beer.

We made a couple of bait stops as the sun dropped below the horizon. Pinfish were scarce, but we managed to load a few decent ones in the livewell.

We cruised through Boca Grande Pass as the moon rose. There were loads of nighttime tarpon fisherman there. We had snapper on our minds, though.

At around midnight, we anchored in 100′ on the wreck of the Bayronto. There were a couple other boats nearby, and we could hear the occasional singing of drag as we baited up. With a frozen chum block, and around 40 pounds of mushy sardines, we set up a great chumline. The snapper moved in quickly, starting with a big mangrove snapper :

More soon succumbed to live pinfish and frozen sardines:

Then the Yellowtail Snapper showed up. We freelined whitebait and sardine chunks back into the chum line. The snapper were there, and it seemed that, for a while, we were hooked up on every cast. Some of the yellowtail were big flag, 4-6 pound fish.

Yellowtail are tons of fun on light tackle. Pretty soon, we were throwing back the smaller ones.

As the moon dropped toward the horizon, we brought out the heavy tackle, with the intention of nailing a few amberjack. They were definitely there- we saw a school of dozens of big ones checking out the boat at sunrise. But, we didn’t catch a one. Seems that the sharks and goliath grouper were just too aggressive, and grabbed every bait before the amberjack had a chance.

Our 40 lb test was no match for the big goliaths. We hooked a bunch, but it was about like hooking a school bus. We had better luck with the sharks. Harris dropped a pinfish shortly after sunrise, and was soon hooked up. He fought the fish about an hour before we could see what it was. Big shark!

We successfully leadered the big bull shark. It was estimated at 8′ and around 300 pounds. Nice job, Harris!

Once the sun had been up a while, the bite slowed, and it was time to head for home.

We ended up with dozens of yellowtail snapper; 6 big mangos; a banded rudderfish; and we released vermilion snapper and  red snapper.

It took three hours to fillet the catch. And, yes, fish fry at my place tonight!