Tampa & Pass-A-Grille Fishing Guide

Another weekend, rounding up the usual suspects at Merry pier in St. Pete Beach. Fishing was… steady, if not good. Amazingly, greenbacks remain plentiful, and a couple tosses of the net are all that’s needed for an afternoon’s fishing. There are plenty of select shrimp available at the baithouse, too.

Yes, there are still Spanish Mackeal around. I musta’ caught a couple dozen, although they were all in the 10-15″ range. Plenty of grouper still around, too, although they also are running on the small side. This marks the first weekend in recent memory where magrove snapper were absent. Still no sheepshead around, either- strange for February, especially with the water temps in the upper 60’s. And… where are the whiting?

The top catch was flounder. I caught about a half dozen, the largest at 15″, and destined for the frying pan. Anybody have any good flounder recipes they’d care to share? Please post in the comments section… thanks!

Every year, my friends Scott and Gail venture down from Murray, Kentucky for some Florida fishing. This year they went to the Keys, and Gail landed this HUGE kingfish on bass fishing tackle. Congrats on an amazing fish!

With weekend temperatures approaching 80 degrees, it was a great time to get out on the water. Down in Pass-A-Grille, pretty much everything was biting. To my surprise, a single throw of the cast net brought up scores of big greenbacks. Who’d have thought bait would still be abundent in February?

So, using big hand picked shrimp and frisky greenbacks, I found the fish to be very cooperative. I caught lots of small grouper to about a foot; 8 to 10 inch magrove snapper (yup, they’re still around); spanish mackeral to 18″ (yeah, they’re still here too!); barely legal flounder; and some nice redfish. Pictured above is a 24″ red that joined us for our Superbowl Party.

Spent some time in Arizona, so I’ve been a little lax with posting-the picture is from a full day trip on Miss Pass-A-Grille a couple weeks ago. Nothing to write home about, but there were a few decent gags and reds, along with the usual assortment of grunts and triggers. The big fish went to those using live pinfish- which will factor into my preparations for next trip.

Fishing has been slow, with the cooler water and the fronts that have been pushing through. I’ve been seeing a few snook hanging around Blind Pass, and the action at Merry pier has generally revolved aroud small grouper, flounder, and the few remaining snapper (odd- they were all gone this time last year). I can report my first sheepshead in a LONG time - a nice 14″ fish which was released unharmed. And I saw a big one lurking around the bait house pilings- a good 6+ pounds. Yup, just about time to break out the fiddler crabs and tube worms.

The new year came in with a bang- after some glorious December weather, a strong winter cold front blew through a week ago. Pre-front, EVERYTHING was biting- I saw a bunch of 16 to 22″ gag grouper caught in Pass-A-Grille, and they were slamming live pinfish with gusto. Macks, flounder, even sea bass were biting enthusiastically.

Once the front came through, everything shut down. The water temperature dropped from 71 degrees down to 54 over the space of a couple of days. All the fish were in shock. I still managed to get down to the Merry Pier yesterday before the Bucs debacle, but there wasn’t much happening. A small grouper here, a little snapper there. VERY slow. Maybe, after this weeks warm-up, things will be back to normal next weekend. Here’s hoping…

On Sunday, December 23, I headed out on the Getaway with a make-up party consisting of Cap’t Dick, Maurice, and his 15 year old son Gabrial. Captain Joe was at the helm, so I knew we were in for a great day offshore.

We left late, around 9, and headed out through the fog. By the time we got to the Tampa shipping channel, the fog was burning off, and the day was looking quite promising. Cap’t Joe made a few throws of the net, and we were loaded up with greenbacks and pinfish. We hit a few channel markers on the way out for good measure, adding sardines and blue runners to the livewell.

The first stop was just off of a wreck in 100′. The amberjack were a little finicky, but we still had a limit of tasty 15 to 20 pound fish in about an hour. Next, we headed for a break- when we anchored up, the fish finder was lit like a Christmas tree!

First up was a healthy 15 poung gag. Then we began hauling in red grouper. Some were pretty nice, in the 10 pound range. After limiting out on the reds, we pulled anchor and made a run of a couple miles to the next spot. Again, a great show of fish.

We proceeded to haul up reds, scamp, and mangos. Action was good, but not the frenzy we were expecting. We soon realized that the full moon was the night before- the fish were full and lazy. Still, we did pretty well.

We had lost a couple of BIG (presumed) gags, when Cap’t Dicks rod bowed over. He battled a huge fish for the next 10 minutes- we were all expecting a 30 pound gag. Alas, it was a 6 foot nurse shark, which was returned unharmed to the deep.

Fishing conditions could not have been more ideal. Water temps were around 70, winds were 5 knots, waves were under a foot, and the air was a pleasant 75. Amazing, considering that Christmas was just a couple days away.

So, here’s the final tally:

• Amberjack
• Red Grouper
• Gag Grouper
• Banded Rudderfish
• American Red Snapper
• Mangrove Snapper
• Scamp Grouper
• Nurse Shark
• Grey Snapper
• Porgy

If you ever have an opportunity to go out on The Getaway with Cap’t Joe- Don’t hesitate. You’ll have a great time. Merry Christmas to all!

 Well… almost made it offshore on Saturday. I showed up at the Merry Pier in St Pete Beach for a little fishing aboard the Miss Pass-A-Grille, only to find out that the 1/2 day trip had been cancelled. So, as I was chatting with the Captain of The Getaway, I found that they were booked on a full day charter- but the fishermen had not arrived. 8:00 a.m. came and went, and by 8:30, the Cap’n said- “Let’s head out”! About that time, though, the tourists showed up, and my plans were quashed.

So, fishing from the Pier, I rounded up the usual suspects- snapper, grouper, flounder, Macks and trash fish. Fun, but nothing noteworthy (although one angler drifting a live pinfish under the dock scored a small snook).

The Getaway returned in the afternoon as the seas were building. They scored a half dozen decent amberjack, some nice mangos, and a lone gag grouper. Not a bad day!

Now that the big cold front has moved through, expect fishing to change- perhaps dramatically. I expect to see sheepshead and whiting begin to show up, and perhaps some larger grouper. There were reports of a few legal size gags caught on the Pier over the last week- perhaps a good omen!

OK, so it was a slow weekend for fishing- the weather was amazing, mid 80’s with plenty of sunshine, so it was great just to get out. On Saturday, I rounded up the usual suspects at the Merry Pier, including small grouper, feisty Spanish mackeral, small snapper and flounder, and an assortment of various trash fish. I had a big pinfish out on the heavy rod for a couple hours, in hopes tha a big cobia might chance by, but no dice. From the rumor department, word was that a 23″ grouper had been caught a couple days before.

When Sunday started out the same, I figured I’d head round to the Pass-A-Grille Jetty just for a change of pace. The jetty was packed, and all of the prime spots were taken. Quite a contrast to Merry Pier, where there’s almost always plenty of elbow room. Anyway, fishing was slow. I caught a couple Mac’s, and I saw some small flounder and one big sheepshead pulled in.

By the way, here’s a tip if you’re going to be fishing in Pass-A-Grill in 2008. Stop by the St Pete Beach Police Department during busines hours and pick up a “B” parking permit.

http://www.stpetebeach.org/police/Permits.asp

“B” permits are valid at all meters within the city.  Both residents and non-residents are eligible to purchase these permits.  They are valid for the calendar year in which they were purchased and are valid at all metered spaces with the EXCEPTION OF THE COUNTY PARK located at 4700 Gulf Blvd.  These decals must be permanently affixed to the vehicles back bumper or rear window.

Ah, another weekend, another plethora of fish. Arriving once again at The Merry Pier on Saturday morning, I found plenty of bait, and plenty of predators. Grouper, snapper, mackeral, flounder and bonita joined the party. But the fish of the day was cobia, with two landed. They were 32″ and 31″, JUST shy of the 33″ minimum. Cobia are hard fighting fish, lots of fun to catch, and great on the grill. Hopefully next weekend there will be some keepers cruising around the pier.

Wow! Got to fish 5 consecutive days over the Thanksgiving weekend. I kicked things off on Thanksgiving day at the Merry Pier in St. Pete Beach. Fishing started a little slow, but soon changed- a school of Bonita came through. Havoc! Everybody up and down the Pier was hooking up- and each hookup was followed by the sound of screaming drags as these hefty, powerful fish peeled off a hundred yards of line (or 200…). People were running madly up and down the Pier, trying to keep from getting spooled. The result:

Now, a lot of peple will tell you that bonita are inedible, and only good for shark bait. They’ll say the meat is too bloody and oily, and that you shouldn’t even try to consume Bonita. Well, I beg to differ. When properly prepared, Bonita can be quite delicious. It takes some time, some imagination, and a great recipe, but a well prepared Bonita can become an excellent meal. Here’s how it turns out when properly prepared:

So, Friday I made the mistake of going out on Miss Pass-A-Grille. The predicted 1-2 foot waves were more like 4-5 feet, and a cold north wind was up at 20+ knots the entire time. Not exactly ideal conditions. I managed 3 short gag grouper, along with a small grey snapper, and, of all things, another Bonita. The entire boat, around 25 people, ended up with a single keeper grouper. Certainly not the fault of the Captain or crew- sometimes Nature conspires against fisherman. It was just one of those days.

The next couple of days were devoted to morning/ early afternoon fishing on Merry Pier, aptly named now that it’s decked out in Christmas lights. I had the distinct pleasure of fishing with Daniel from Denver on Monday afternoon- he landed a very nice Spanish Mackeral, his first:

So, for the long weekend the tally included:

• Bonita (four of ‘em!)
• Spanish Mackeral
• Grouper
• Grey Snapper
• Flounder
• Bluefish
• Lane Snapper
• Pinfish
• Grunts
• Pufferfish
• Lizardfish
• Squirrelfish
• Filefish

A quick note- the baitshop at the Merry Pier has live shrimp, frozen baits, tackle, lures, sandwiches, smokes, cold beer, soft drinks, hats, candy, t-shirts, ice cream, gifts, and a whole lot more. Check it out!