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!

My friend Peter ventured offshore over the weekend, and the fishing was on fire! Lots of action, and lots of variety. Pictured above is a big blackfin tuna – destined for the grill.

Here’s a monster red snapper:

And, what offshore trip is complete without a few big grouper?

Congrats to Peter for an 0utsanding fishing trip. And thanks for sending the photos!

It was another glorious weekend, with bright skies, clear water, good tides and plenty of fish. Tampa Fishing is in full swing! A few highlights included:

Pompano
Grouper
Mangrove Snapper
Bonnethead Sharks
Spanish Mackerel
Filefish (ugh)
Red Grouper

The Pier at 8thAve in Pass-A-Grille was packed with the usual suspects, including Joe, Cap’t Dick, Lolita, Dan,  Larry, Mike and his brother from Michigan and more. Here’s Mike’s Saturday catch:

Mangrove snapper are biting, but… it’s odd. The last few years, it was like flipping a light switch. One day- no snapper. Then, overnight, thousands of little snaps. This year, though, there have only been a few snapper so far, and almost all have been in the 12-13″ range. And the love little spottail pinfish:

Saturday was all about the grouper.  Between Cap’t Dick and I, we musta caught a couple dozen in the 15″ to 20″ range. But, under the Northeast corner of the dock, something BIG was lurking. We were railed nine (count ’em- 9!) times by something huge while using whole frozen sardines.  Might have been big snook. Might have been monster gags. My money is on a big Goliath grouper. They have been known to frequent the dock, and to wreck spinning tackle. I returned Sunday with a heavy grouper outfit (big Penn reel and an Ugly Stick like a pool cue). No dice, though. Whatever had been there Saturday had cleared out. Oh, well. Next weekend is forecast inthe upper 80’s, with light winds, a full moon, and a decent incoming tide from 6 a.m. till noon. You know where to find me…

Spring fishing here in the Tampa Bay, Florida area continues to produce outstanding results. I spent the morning Sunday at the Merry Pier in St. Pete Beach, targeting grouper on the incoming tide. They were aggressively hitting whole frozen sardines, and I landed around a dozen, up to 20″:

There were a few mackerel around, and even a decent flounder. But the big fish of the day was a 40″ cobia that nailed a Spanish Sardine. With fairly light spinning tackle, and 20 lb. test SpiderWire, it was a fun fight. Thankfully, Cap’t Joe was on the pier, and had a gaff handy- this fish wouldn’t fit in the net!  It’s the first legal cobia that I’ve caught on the pier. Fresh grilled cobia steaks tonight!

I spent Friday and Saturday at the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event on the beach behind Sloppy Joe’s in Treasure Island. Our Team, Digital Eel (a Tampa web design company), has raised over $10,000 to date for this worthy cause.

 Cap’t Joe preparing to fillet the catch of the day:

It was another spectacular Spring weekend here in Florida. I managed to spend a few hours pier fishing in St. Pete Beach using live pinfish and frozen sardines.  The current was running decent just after sunup, and the fish were active.  My first catch was a surprise- a red grouper, caught from a pier. It was about a foot long, and took a sardine:

After that, it was all gag grouper till the current went slack. I caught two over 20″, including one that JUST missed being legal. The last fish of the day was also a surprise; a feisty little cobia, again on a sardine. There were a few mackerel around, but no sign of the snook. I did see one decent mangrove snapper landed. They should be following the bait in any day now.

Just got a few more pictures from last weekends trip.  Here’s a great shot of Cap’t. Joe tossing the bait net. I’ve seen him throw many times, and am always amazed by his flawless technique.

And, here’s the result of the throw- an incredible quantity of big whitebait. We had plenty to share with another boat that was futilely trying to sabiki them one at a time.

And, after a long day on the water, it’s time to bring out the fillet knife. Cleaning big fish like this takes time, skill and practice.

Looking forward to getting offshore again soon. What a great time of the year to be on Florida’s Gulf Coast!

I got the call Saturday evening. The Getaway fishing  charter out of St. Pete Beach had a couple empty spots on Sunday for a full day in the Gulf.  At sunrise Sunday, Tim and I were on the Merry Pier and ready to go.  Joe was at the helm, and Cap’t Dick played mate, while Chuck, Joe and Whyatt rounded out the passenger list.

A quick stop at the Pass-A-Grille tripod, and a couple throws of the net, and the livewell was blacked out with big whitebait. We hit a couple markers in the Egmont Channel for big blue runners and pinfish, and headed West through the fog.

We arrived at a fishy looking spot in about 80 feet, and fired down a big runner. It took about the count of ten before the rod was doubled over with a 40 pound amberjack. After an epic fight, he landed in the box.

We circled for another drift, and Cap’t Joe tossed out a couple handfuls of whitebait for chum. After a couple minutes, I glanced off the starboard side and spotted a pair of big cobia cruising. They circled the boat a couple times before they saw our freelined pinfish. Wham! The fight was on. Tim took the rod, and it was indeed quite a fight on 20 pound test.

While the battle raged, I dropped a big pinfish down on a grouper rod. Pretty soon- whack! We had a double header of big cobia on. Tim’s succumbed first, while mine sounded. Lots of drag screaming and headshakes, but a managed to get it within gaff range. It was a good 50 pounds – nice fish!

We boated another AJ, then headed for a little grouper digging. I thought they’d be on fire after the long closure, but the bite was spotty. Plenty of fish there, they just were a bit spooky. We watched a big loggerhead turtle check out the boat, while a Portuguese Man o’ War blew by. We had mid-80’s, sunshine, and a nice breeze. We ended up catching:

-Red Gouper
-Gag Grouper
-Scamp
-Nice Mangrove Snapper
-Triggerfish
-White Grunt
-Bar Jack
-A Keeper Kingfish

Another fantastic day on the water with The Getway. If you’re looking for a great offshore trip, give Joe a call at 727-743-8705, and tell him you saw this report on TampaFishing.net!