07/30/2010 Tampa Bay Report

August 3, 2010

We decided to get out early Friday morning. Stephanie, Randy, Susan and I headed toward the skyway span. Before we arrived we made a stop to catch some bait. After a few throws of the net we had plenty of pinfish, grunts, and greenbacks. We also came across a massive school of mullet; I estimated it was a couple football fields long. We decided to throw the bait net and see if we would get any, we managed to get two in the net. The tide had switched to go out an hour prior, so we decided to stick around and fish the grass flat. After about 15 minutes and little luck we decided to move closer to the skyway in search of grouper and snapper.

We fished a nice area that has a mixture of sandy bottom and structure. It wasn’t long and up comes a nice flounder; we caught 3 keeper flounder fishing with a slip sinker rig next to the structure. We then moved to fish a few nice ledges and it wasn’t long and we were on the grouper. I would say we caught about 20 grouper on this day. We also caught many snapper. The larger grouper fed on large pinfish and grunts. Besides the 7 mph winds it was a beautiful day and a very productive one at that. We called it a day around 3 pm.

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4th of July Fishing 2010

July 6, 2010

Anyone else feeling the rain syndrome? A couple weeks ago the rainy season arrives and it came with vengeance!  Not only do we have the summer thunderstorm patterns in the evening, but it has been raining non stop throughout the day on most days.

Normally I’m very inviting of storms that lack lightning, as the barometric pressure falls the fish turn on like a switch and the bite is usually phenomenal. This 4th of July that wasn’t the case. Bait wasn’t hard to catch but the grouper, mackerel and snapper bite was non existent. We tried to weather the storms best we could and we fished through most of the light storms but it was very unpleasant. We finally wrapped it up and left with an empty cooler. Anyone else try this weekend?

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Night Fishing to Beat the Hot Summer Heat

June 24, 2010

A cold winter it was, so we can only expect to have a scorching summer. The past several weeks the air temperatures have exceeded 95 degrees and the water temps in the bay aren’t far behind. In some areas, the bay water temperature is averaging 92 degrees. There are a couple of options to beat [...]

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Florida Legislature Repealed the Shoreline License Fee, Other Prices Increase

June 22, 2010

We all now how this works, yes the Florida land license was repealed by the Florida legislature and they prevailed. In the mean time other licenses and permits will increase. Two saltwater licenses where affected by the rate increases. The new fees will affect the following: Snook permits will increase from $2.00 to $10.00 and [...]

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Fathers Day Offshore Report

June 21, 2010

Father’s day started off beautifully, birds chirping and the sun shining. We arrived at the boat ramp around 7:30 am, to board a 30 foot Contender.  Capt. Bill was there prepared to head offshore 50 miles.  I loaded up all the gear and departed from the dock. On our way, we stopped and retrieved several dozen [...]

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Wade Fishing Tampa Bay

June 18, 2010

Warm days make wade fishing a real treat. Tampa Bay produces great areas to fish but many of the areas require a boat to get out and wade. There are areas that can be reached by foot. A couple productive areas are located around Simmons Park, Fort Desoto and the Skyway flats. I like fishing [...]

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Strong Tides & Strong Tarpon

June 17, 2010

The next 3 weeks tarpon fishing will greatly improve. Tarpon are now in their pre-spawn phase and will have huge appetites. During this time they won’t be very picky eaters.  Ideally you want to fish around the new and full moon on the strong outgoing tides.  Spending a little time dipping up pass crabs as [...]

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Scallop Season Here Early

June 16, 2010

Governor Charlie Crist. requested scallop season start a little sooner due to the crisis in the gulf. Season usually opens July 1st but has now been set to open this Saturday June 19th. The season will extend through September 1st. For more information, visit www.myfwc.com.

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06/13/2010 Fishing Report

June 14, 2010

I did manage to get out and fish the jetty today. I had snook and redfish on the brain. I packed up the fly rod, a few spinning rods and headed to the bait and tackle store to acquire a few large shrimp. When we arrived at our fishing destination the tide was really pushing [...]

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Speedy Mackerel Equals a Fun Day on the Water

June 10, 2010

On some days the fish you are trying to catch just won’t cooperate, therefore you have to look for alternative fishing fun. I often try and locate schools of mackerel on off days. Mackerel are great because they are easy to locate, fun to catch and the most novice of fisherman can fill the cooler. [...]

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