Friday, November 11, 2011
Look for nearshore pelagics to scatter bait fish, and an array of flats fish to make for easy targets as bait becomes plentiful
SALTWATER SCENE The flats should be alive with action this month. “Schools of reds will spread out on shallow flats where you may find them in potholes or along the edges of sand bars when the tide is low or along mangrove shorelines when the tide is high,” Capt. Rick Grassett said. “Look for trout, blues, Spanish mackerel and pompano on deep grass flats and catch and release snook around lighted docks and bridges in the ICW.” He added action will be equally good in the coastal gulf where anglers should find Spanish and king mackerel, little tunny, cobia and tarpon following bait schools. “With the opening of stone crab season this month, you may also find tripletail around some of the many crab trap floats in the coastal gulf,” he said. …
Friday, September 23, 2011
The Florida Sportsman Magazine fishing show will be held at the Florida State Fairgrounds Saturday and Sunday, but Capt. Bill Miller also tells anglers what's biting in the area
SALTWATER SCENE Capt. Bill Miller, host of the TV Show “Hooked on Fishing,” reported that bait is plentiful on the flats and big schools of redfish have moved in all along the coast. “Trout fishing is very good and it seems like more snook and bigger snook have reappeared,” Miller said. Snook season is closed until, possibly, Sept. of 2012. Gag grouper season opened Sept. 16 and, along with red grouper, are available to keep. But the best tips will be at the Florida Sportsman Fishing and Boating Show Saturday and Sunday at The Florida State Fairgrounds. Fishing professionals from all over the state will host free seminars. Admission is $8. “Capt. Billy Miller and I will be there giving seminars both days,” Miller said. “We will be at the …
Friday, September 16, 2011
Vince Tice from Tampa Fishing Outfitters lets Tampa-area anglers know what's biting in area waters, and although gag grouper season opens today, there's are tons of angling options
SALTWATER SCENE Vince Tice from Tampa Fishing Outfitters, the largest independent tackle shop on the West Coast of Florida, said with gag grouper season open in all waters today through Nov. 16, anglers can look for big gags in as close as 30 feet of water offshore. He said redfish have been biting well in the bay and Spanish mackerel were reported this week to be thick just off the beaches on the north end of Anna Maria Island. He said pompano have been hit and miss and flounder have been caught just off the Pinellas County beaches. There are plenty of tarpon at the Howard Frankland and Gandy bridges, as well as the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Also, snook have reportedly been chewing at the Courtney Campbell and by Cypress Beach near the …
Friday, September 9, 2011
With rains having stirred Tampa-area waters and dropped water temperatures about 10 degrees in the past couple weeks, Capt. Jason Prieto of Steady Action Fishing Charters has adjusted for nice catches of trout, redfish and even a few snook
SALTWATER SCENE Capt. Jason Prieto of Steady Action Fishing Charters in Tampa fished Thursday and found good action on redfish and trout tight to mangroves as well as on lower, outgoing tides. He said the most productive areas have been Joe Island, Cockroach Bay, the Simmons Park flat and Bishop Harbor. The trout, which Prieto caught with heavy chum and white bait under a cork, have been low in numbers but have run between 20-25 inches in length. With heavy rains, the surface water temperature in Upper Tampa Bay has dropped to a high of 82 degrees. Prieto said grouper are in the bay and snook are beginning to move from the passes to the flats. He thinks the best snook fishing will be in two weeks when more snook head to backcountry area en…
Friday, September 2, 2011
Capt. Jazz recommends targeting schools of breeder redfish this weekend, and has a tip for anglers who are looking for something that will really makes lines zing
SALTWATER SCENE Capt. Jazz said it’s been a subpar summer. A lot of the bigger Spanish mackerel were not around, snook-fishing has been down, mangrove snapper fishing has been hit-and-miss, and if it weren’t for tarpon, the fishing would have been pretty dismal, he said. Jazz found that the recent thunderstorms have keep the water cooler than normal. There has been a good push of redfish the past new and full moons and some big breeders have come into Tampa Bay. SOMETHING TO TRY This weekend, target those big, breeder reds on an incoming tide tight to mangroves. Make sure the area has good water movement. Capt. Jazz said Fort DeSoto has been holding big schools of redfish, as well as Tarpon Key and, farther south, Joe Island. Hit the water…
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Capt. Mark of A Action Filled Adventure has been cooling off during hot fishing days with his family to take a dip into the Homosassa River for some exceptional scalloping
Capt. Mark of A Actrion Filled Adventure reported that it has been a banner year for scalloping on the Homosassa River. “We’ve been getting our limits while we’re out there,” he said. An abundance of scallops is a prime indicator of good water quality, something that should be beneficial for fishing in the river. Scallop season this year was extended to Sept. 25. There is a daily limit of two gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell or one pint of bay scallop meat per person. Also, no more than 10 gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell or one-half gallon of bay scallop meat may be possessed onboard any time. Scallopers are allowed to harvest bay scallops by hand or with a landing or dip net. Finally, bay scallops may not be harvested…
Friday, August 19, 2011
Capt. Jason Prieto of Steady Action Fishing Charters said white bait is back on the flats and tells the spots where trout should be the best bet for anglers this weekend
Capt. Jason Prieto of Steady Action Fishing Charters said trout has been the best target around Bishop's Harbor, Joe Island and flats off Pinellas Point. Redfish should be mixed in with the trout. He said white bait from 1 to 3 inches has finally showed up on the flats, and anglers can simply chum the small shiners and free line the bigger ones over a grass flat with a salt-and-pepper bottom in 3-to-6 feet of water. "We've been catching a ton of small trout," Prieto said. He said mangrove snapper still are around various rock piles and artificials and tarpon have shown every now and then in various rivers. For trout, Prieto recommends hitting a 2.5- or 3-foot outgoing high tide and fishing from 8am to noon. "After that, it's just too hot…
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Capt. Jason Prieto said the summertime mangrove snapper bite is on, and he offers anglers some choice tips on how to lure this great-tasting fish to their ice chests
Some of those tasty, flaky mangrove snapper have come into the local bays in good numbers, and Capt. Jason Prieto of Steady Action Fishing Charters has been getting them on the wrecks and reefs of Tampa Bay. As tarpon move into the bay to chase glass minnows, so do mangrove snapper make their typical summertime appearance. Prieto recommends anglers net some fry bait as close as the flats off the Gandy Bridge, although thicker bait may be found around Rattlesnake Key or Joe Island. Stick some small bait on a Daiichi No. 1 bleeding (red) circle hook with 10-pound braided line, a 20-pound fluorocarbon leader and enough weight to keep the bait at the bottom, depending on water depth and tide movement. Prieto said the tip to catching mangrove …
Saturday, July 23, 2011
The summertime beach tarpon follow glass minnows in the bays, where anglers can take advantage of some great silver king action through August
As glass minnows begin to swarm inside Tampa Bay, many tarpon have begun their summertime move from the passes to the bays. The Howard Frankland Bridge, Courtney Campbell Causeway and Gandy Bridge and on the east side of the bay by downtown Tampa and the Hillsborough River, in 7 to 15 feet of water, typically hold these summertime silver kings. Looks for the popping on the surface of hatch bait and sneak into the area with your favorite topwater lure, such as the MirrOlure Top Dog, among many -- casting a few feet ahead of the rolling tarpon. There are still scattered tarpon off the beaches, and silver kings have been known to stay around the Sunshine Skyway fishing piers until Christmas. For inshore species, anglers can use this small “…
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Dominic Caro of Southeast Fishing Tackle Liquidators uses recent testimonies and his own experiences on the water from the past week to give Westchase anglers their best chance at hooking anything from tarpon to snook
Dominic Caro of Southeast Fishing Tackle Liquidators said snook and pompano have been scattered on most of the area’s beaches, trout are in deeper grass flats on the edges of channels and the bridges of upper Tampa Bay have held some good-sized snook. Also, Caro reported running across a group of about 500 big redfish in the Fort DeSoto area. “They were following mullet pressed up against mangroves,” he said. The majority of captains are reporting having a hard time finding shiners. Some captains will use recently-hatched bait, which can be found all around the local piers, on small tackle. Caro said he has been using live shrimp or cut dead bait. “I’ve had fariy good luck with them,” Caro said. “Clearwater Bait & Tackle has had real good …
