Florida (27)
Florida Fishing Reports
Hunting season is over and it’s time to get back on the water. I spent the last few months hunting all over the country, including Alaska with my buddy Clark Dixon. We have been filming for a new show that we are part of called “The Syndicate” which will air on the Sportsman Channel this fall.
The dolphin and kingfish bit really good today on our sportfishing charter this morning. Capt John and Robert headed out on the Big Game with 6 eager anglers from Michigan this morning. They stopped and caught a couple dozen live baits quickly at the bait fishing spot on the way out to fishing grounds, and then we headed out further offshore to set out our live baits and catch some big fish.
It didn’t take long for Dustin Robison from Ohio to figure out why Tampa Bay is considered one of the best fishing locales in the country. During our 2 day trip, Dustin, landed over 7 different species of fish. Sheephead, Trout, Lizzardfish, ladyfish, Whiting, Snook, Redfish and even a cool little Pufferfish kept Dustins’ rod bent.
With this winter being so mild, the weather was steller for a December day. Tampa fishing charters are always fun this time of year when the weather is this nice. The temperatures were in the 70-80's all day long and the water temperatures weren't too bad either. Other than having to do quite a bit of paddling into the wind today, the conditions for doing some flats fishing in Sarasota Bay were ideal.
What another great day of fishing in Tampa Bay. It doesn’t get much better than running Tampa fishing charters for a living. Today was another typical fishing trip around Ft De Soto Park. This is where you can do some of the best fishing in Tampa Bay and is a huge hub for Tampa fishing charters.
Seasons are starting to change here in Tampa bay and so are the fishing conditions for tampa fishing charters! The water temperatures are starting to drop which is starting to pick up the bite a bit especially inshore. With winter rolling in, a lot of the native species will be trying to get nice and fat for the fall haul.
We're only halfway through October and it is already turning out to be a very memorable month. This month started off with flat seas and nice well organized grass lines. While the grass was very scattered, it was pretty far offshore, mostly at 750ft. and deeper to the wall, but definetly worth the run.
This has been one heck of a hot Tampa Bay summer with water temperatures as high as 89 degrees. The redfish and snook fishing has been great in the Ft. Desoto area. Another place I've been hammering them is out at weeden island. I love watching the redfish tailing as the sun rises.
Fished Upper Tampa Bay with Capt. Shawn and john in search of Snook in our trusty yaks and Found them. it all started with me sight-casting an 18" sitting shallow on an oyster bar. After that the bite was on! Over 22 Snook were caught and safely released up to 31". D.O.A. paddletail in pearl kept us on. We also managed to land a dozen reds to 18", flounder, lady fish and some PHAT Trout. We caught all of these on a shorter half day trip too!!
This time of year I spend a lot of time paddling in beautiful Ft. Desoto. Set just inside the mouth of Tampa Bay, Ft. Desoto is known for producing every species the bay has to offer. August/September are excellent months to target big bruiser Redfish in the Ft. On the new and full moon phases these fish will school up and feed aggressively.