Finally made it offshore with friends/clients Peter, Tim and Matt on the Getaway. Red tide was evident to about 7 miles out, and our bait stops yielded very little- the few blue runners we caught quickly died in the livewell. At least we had a good supply of pinfish.

First drop was about 40 miles due west of Pass-A-Grille. A banded rudderfish was quickly followed by a short red grouper. The Captain opted to move further out. Next stop was at 115 feet. We fired down some small pins, and were rewarded with instant hookups.

For the next 60 minutes, we hauled in a mix of American Red Snapper and Red Grouper. Next, gags joined the fray. A ramora showed up, and I hooked a nice bonita that ran underneath the boat. Why? ‘Cause there was a shark on his tail. After throwing back what was left of the bonita, the bite slowed down considerable- but never really stopped.

 By mid-afternoon, we were out of live bait and headed back to the Merry Pier. The final tally- 4 ARS, 3 Red Grouper, 8 Scamp, 1 Gag, 2 Yellowtail (nice one’s, too!), 1 Mango, a couple Vermillion Snapper, 1 rudderfish, and a triggerfish. Plenty for a Sunday fish fry for the Bucs game.

 All in all, an excellent trip, and I would be more than happy to go out with the crew again!

Ok, tomorrow is the big day- an all day charter on the Getawy sportfishing boat. Fingers croosed, but the weateher looks good- a few scattered thunderstorms which we should be able to dodge. First drop will be at around 40 miles out.

 The wish list (in no patrticular order):

American Red Snapper

Gag Grouper

Blackfin Tuna

Red Grouper

Scamp

Amberjack

Triggerfish

Mahi Mahi

Once we return, I’ll update my wish list with the actual catch. No hurricanes in the forecast for this week- it’s a GO!

 

 

 

Well… got out to Merry Pier in Pass-a-Grille on Saturday and again on Monday. Saturday was slow, just a couple keeper mangos and the usual small grouper. Couple big hits from what were probably snook, resulting in a cutoff on the pilings. Overall, pretty slow- but, there was a whiff of red tide in the air….

 So, back to Merry Pier on Monday morning. Fishing was pretty much dead all day. Final tally- 1 grouper, 1 rat red, and an undersized snook. This is the first day in months that I haven’t seen a single mangrove snapper. But, back to the red tide- IT HAS ARRIVED! Everybody was caughing from time to time, and there was a pretty significant number of dead fish floating in the weedline. I saw dead catfish, pinfish, mullet, margate, and even 2 small hog snapper. The hog snapper were killed very recently, which would indicate that the red tide is out in the deeper water too. Not good.

 Still looking forward to getting offshore on the Getaway Thursday. The weather looks good….

Well, I was all set to head out into the gulf tomorrow with three friends on the Getaway (out of the Merry Pier in Pass-a-Grille). Looks like seas to 5 feet and rain mean a delay till next Thursday. Look for a good report after that!

Redfish!

So, I ventured out with Captain Mike Homer (www.capthomer.com) and a client, Owen, for some inshore action. Cap’t Homer is a 3rd generation guide, and knows the waters of Tampa Bay like the back of his hand. We launched out of Clearwater on the rising tide.

We threw live shrimp behind the boat, and within seconds, had a big redfish on. Over the next sixty minutes, we boated 8 reds, up to 31″. Lots of fun, and a couple slot reds went into the cooler.

 Next on the agenda was pompano, but it was not to be. We tried the passes and the beaches, but no sign of them. After dodging a few thundershowers, we decided to call it a day. The finally tally included redfish, grouper, snapper, and a drag screaming ladyfish. I look forward to getting out again with Cap’t. Homer- it was a great experience.

Welcome to TampaFishing! I’m Steve, Webmaster for TampaFishing.Net. The goal of this site is to provide Tampa Bay area anglers with facts, information, and techniques that will help them catch more fish, bigger fish, and have more fun fishing in the Tampa Bay waters. Be sure and check back often, as TampaFishing will be updated every week with all of the latest information you need to catch big fish!

Tampa Fishing encompasses offshore action (trolling, wrecks and reefs) and inshore fishing (flats, docks, piers, seawalls, jetty’s and the beach). Frankly, most of the fishing I do is from docks and piers, so that will be a focus area in many reports.

My favorite species include blackfin tuna, grouper, mangrove snapper, snook, redfish, sheepshead, sharks, flounder and cobia, though all types of fish are covered, including tarpon, sea trout, black drum, pompano, permit, billfish, triggerfish, and more.

Subjects including equipment, baits, tackle, knots, presentation techniques and more will be covered. We welcome your input and questions, as well as any fishing reports that you may provide. Tampafishing is a year round sport, so get out and catch ‘em up!