Tampa Bay is alive with bait, and the fish are very active. Variety this time of year is amazing. I spent 8 hours on the Merry Pier Saturday, and the bounty included legal gag grouper, big black drum, Spanish macks, snook, cobia and big flounder. Here’s Tim’s catch:
My buddy Mike frequently fishes Blind Pass around 76th Ave in St. Pete Beach. On Friday, he bagged a nice slot redfish, and a 20″ flounder:
Between trips to Arizona and battling the flu, I was ready for a little dock time on Sunday morning. A full moon, coupled with a good incoming current starting at sunrise were good signs. I only spent a couple hours on the pier, but there were plenty of fish around. Grouper, ladyfish, jacks, macks, and small flounder were cooperative.
I was soaking a greenback in a sandy area waiting for a flounder when something big hit. A couple strong runs, a dash under the dock, wrapping around the pilings… I had my hands full But I managed to land my first legal snook of the season- a 30 1/2″ fish destined for the grill.
Another glorious Fall weekend of fishing in South St. Pete Beach. The Merry Pier in Pass-A-Grill drew the usual collection of dedicated fisherman, including Cap’t. Dick, Tim from Tampa, JoeMama, Mike from Michigan, Dave & other regulars. The fishing was slow but steady, with tides peaking before sunrise, and a strong outgoing tide all morning. Keeping weeds off our lines was a problem Saturday.
The fish were fairly cooperative, though. Mike landed a keeper flounder and a slot snook. There were macks, legal snapper, short red and gag grouper, etc. But the highlight of the weekend was when Leon caught a hog snapper- yes, a real, 100% hogfish, caught inshore at the Merry Pier. Hogfish are an offshore species, and difficult to catch on hook and line. They are a favored target for spearfisherman. I have never seen nor heard of one caught inshore, but Leon’s was DEFINATLY a hog snapper. Just goes to show… you never know what you might catch in the waters of Tampa Bay!
Tim recently made a spearfishing trip to the middle grounds, home to big grouper. Here’s evidence:
Fall fishing is in full swing. The water temps are starting top drop, days are getting shorter, and the fish are active and on the move.
I managed to spend a few hours both Saturday and Sunday fishing in St. Pete Beach. There were some huge greenbacks schooling around the Merry Pier. Using frozen sardines, I finally nailed a nice grouper at sunrise Saturday, just at the start of the incoming tide. 26″, and tasty! There were cobia, sharks, macks, mangos and flounder caught, although overall the fishing was pretty slow. Sunday Tim ventured down from Tampa. The highlight was a 15 pound stingray that created a few minutes worth of excitement.
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:
