Owner: St. Pete Beach And Tampa Fishing Guide URL:www.tampafishing.net Join Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2008 08:44:30 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Fishing guide covering the greater Tampa Bay, Florida area. Features tips and techniques; weekly fishing reports and photos; takle and bait advice and more. Site statistics:Click here
Fish… and Rumors of Fish 2008-04-07 08:17:38 The winds were howling Saturday, quashing any chance of getting offshore. I did manage to get in a little St. Petes Beach shore fishing, with sheepshead, grouper, ladyfish and Lane snapper to show for the effort. I’ve been getting a number of St. Pete’s Beach area fishing reports, though..
Tarpon have made their official appearance. I [...]
Getting Ready for Kingfish Season 2008 2008-03-30 15:50:16 While the main push of kingfish is still a few weeks away, I’ve been readying the tackle box in anticipation. Meanwhile, I managed to spend a couple of hours in St. Pete Beach fishing at the Merry Pier. I saw a couple of undersized snook caught over at the ‘bowling alley’, the old piling immediately [...] Read more:Season
The Spring Bite is ON! 2008-03-17 16:32:34 With the wind Saturday, and the fog Sunday, I wasn’t able to hop a boat and head offshore. Still got in some good fishing, though. Sheepshead were the target, and they’re finally starting to show reliably. Using fiddler crabs, a bagged about a dozen of ‘em on Sunday, ranging up to about 4 pounds. Man, [...] Read more:Spring
Spring Fishing in Tampa 2008-03-06 12:47:06 It’s been crazy at work- sorry for the late post. Yes, I was fishing last weekend. Yes, they were biting. For starters, check out the catch from the full day trip on Miss PassAGrille:
Yeah, they were chewing the bottom out of the boat. Even a nice flounder! Imagine if grouper were in season- they threw [...] Read more:Fishing
, Spring
, Tampa
Countdown to Snook Season 2008 - Tampa 2008-02-21 16:36:05 Snook Season
2008 opens on March 1. Earlier today, I happened to be hanging around Blind Pass and what should I spot but… a whole bunch of snook, schooled up within 10 feet of the shore. They were a little spooky in the clear water, but they were unmistakably snook. Most were smaller, but a [...] Read more:Countdown
, Tampa
Hanging out at Merry Pier 2008-02-19 08:01:24 Pictured above are the results of the Saturday full day trip on Miss Pass-A-Grill. Conspicuously absent are grouper, which are now out of season in Federal waters (i.e. 9 miles r more offshore). LOTS of grunts (aka grey snapper, aka key west grunts), and a few triggerfish. I understand that some decent grouper were released.
For [...] Read more:Hanging
, Merry
St. Pete Beach Fishing 2008-02-10 18:46:52 Another weekend, rounding up the usual suspects at Merry pier in St. Pete Beach
. Fishing
was… steady, if not good. Amazingly, greenbacks remain plentiful, and a couple tosses of the net are all that’s needed for an afternoon’s fishing. There are plenty of select shrimp available at the baithouse, too.
Yes, there are still Spanish Mackeal [...]
Monster Keys Kingfish 2008-02-05 16:22:28 Every year, my friends Scott and Gail venture down from Murray, Kentucky for some Florida fishing. This year they went to the Keys, and Gail landed this HUGE kingfish on bass fishing tackle. Congrats on an amazing fish! Read more:Monster
A Super Weekend! 2008-02-04 10:29:56 With weekend temperatures approaching 80 degrees, it was a great time to get out on the water. Down in Pass-A-Grille, pretty much everything was biting. To my surprise, a single throw of the cast net brought up scores of big greenbacks. Who’d have thought bait would still be abundent in February?
So, using big hand picked [...] Read more:Super
, Weekend
Catching Up 2008-01-30 13:57:04 Spent some time in Arizona, so I’ve been a little lax with posting-the picture is from a full day trip on Miss Pass-A-Grille a couple weeks ago. Nothing to write home about, but there were a few decent gags and reds, along with the usual assortment of grunts and triggers. The big fish went to [...]
Trolling for Snook! 2008-04-21 09:34:38 Trolling for kingfish? Sure! Trolling for grouper? Why not. But… trolling for snook? This was a new experience for me. On Saturday, I met my friend David and we headed down to Bellaire Beach for a little surf fishing. It was a beautiful day, but the fish weren’t cooperating.
Later that afternoon, we headed to the [...] Read more:Trolling
Snook Season is Winding Down 2008-04-28 08:25:32 So, it was a glorious weekend for fishing- lots of sunshine, clear water, ample bait, decent tides. I hit Merry Pier Saturday mornign, stocked up on select shrimp, and freelined a big one under the pier on a 7′ Star rod and Shimano 6500 Baitrunner spooled with 20′ mono. BAM! 1 shrimp, 1 snook. It came [...] Read more:Season
, Winding
Spring Fishing is in Full Swing! 2008-05-05 11:57:33 It’s a great time of the year to be a Florida fisherman! The weather is fantastic, the water is clear, and the fish are biting. Fishing
this weekend in St. Petes Beach, I caught, hooked, or saw just about everything that swims. How’s this list:
-Grouper
-Mangrove Snapper
-Lane Snapper
-Snook
-Sheepshead
-Spanish Mackerel
-Sailor’s Delight
-Atlantic Spadefish
-Ladyfish
-Jack Crevalle
-And the usual trash fish
I [...] Read more:Spring
Florida Snapper & Grouper Fishing 2008-05-12 09:49:37 As the water continues to heat up, so does the fishing. I spent a few hours both Saturday and Sunday hanging out at the Merry Pier in St. Pete Beach. Live shrimp was the bait of choice. The technique- tail hook a medium shrimp on a #2 Owner hook with a foot of 30″ flourocarbon [...] Read more:Fishing
, Florida
St. Petersburg Fishing 2008-05-19 12:39:18 In typical May style, the Merry Pier in St. Peterburg is loaded with grouper and mangrove snapper. And they’re highly cooperative. Fishing
on Saturday, I managed a limit of snapper, and threw back over a dozen. Gag grouper, ranging from a foot up to 19″, were mixed in. They were hitting live, tail hooked shrimp, [...] Read more:Petersburg
Offshore Fun on the Getaway 2008-05-27 17:03:45 Memorial Day weekend brought some great fishing opportunities. I caught tons of grouper and snapper at the Merry Pier on Saturday and Sunday. But the real fun was on Monday, when I was joined by Cap’t. Dick and three of his friends for an extended day trip offshore on the Getaway.
We were all a bit [...] Read more:Offshore
Tampa Inshore Grouper Fishing 2008-06-02 16:23:05 Conventional wisdom says you need a boat for grouper fishing. And, yes, the bite is strong now in 70′ to 140′. But, it’s also good standing on the Merry Pier on 8th Avenue in St. Pete Beach. Of course, there were plently of snapper and mackerel around, even a few sheepshead. But the highlight this [...] Read more:Fishing
, Tampa
Summer Fishing Patterns 2008-06-10 08:08:08 Lots of fish this weekend, but nothing to brag about. The summer fishing patterns are taking shape, with cooler mornings, blazing hot afternoons, and evening thunderstorms, with no fronts in sight. The haul this weekend included bluefish, blue runners, mangrove snapper, gag and red grouper, TONS of lane snapper, key west grunts (yes, they’re right [...] Read more:Fishing
, Patterns
, Summer
Florida Offshore Fishing - June 2008 2008-06-16 09:34:14 Cap’t Dick’s 25′ Grady White just got back from the shop, so it was time for a little shakedown cruise. Sunday morning, Joe, Pat, and I gathered at Dick’s, geared up and headed west. The Gulf was perfect - just enough breeze to keep the heat down, but not enough to kick up waves. It [...] Read more:Fishing
, Florida
, Offshore
Anybody There? 2008-06-23 16:54:24 Fishing was a little slow after the full moon, and the weekend storms didn’t help. So, I figured I’d check the statistics for Tampa Fishing. Do you realize that over the last year, this website has:
Over 60,000 Visitors
Over 125,000 Page Views
The average visitor spends 3 minutes, 27 seconds on the site. And, tampafishing.net ranks for, [...]
The Big Fish are Biting! 2008-07-07 09:54:43 Pictured above is Roger, an outstanding fisherman, with a hefty Merry Pier snook. I managed to get in a little fishing this weekend, between parties, fireworks and the beach. Seems that the bigger fish are starting to get active- I saw a nice tarpon jumped with a pinfish; a 32″ cobia landed after an epic [...]
Grouper, Snapper and Snook Still Hot 2008-06-30 15:54:41 Pictured above is a nice 24″ grouper my friend Mike pulled in yesterday from the Merry Pier in St. Pete Beach. It hit a live shrimp with a couple split shot about 20″ off the dock. I caught a few smaller grouper, but no keepers.
The snapper bite is red hot right now. The fish are [...]
Summer Fishing in St. Peterburg 2008-07-22 13:19:19 This weekend was more of the same- lots of small grouper and snapper in Pass-A-Grille. A few jacks. But, nothing too spectacular. No tarpon. No cobia. No keeper grouper. Stay tuned till next week. Read more:Fishing
, Summer
Mahi Mahi Fishing Frenzy 2008-07-14 17:32:11 So, Saturday I headed down to Merry Pier bright and early to meet with Nick and get in a little snapper and grouper fishing. Nick’s a great guy, and he was hauling in keeper mangos in no time. But, I had a little change of plans. Seems Joe, the owner of the Getaway, a Tampa [...] Read more:Fishing
Mike Alstott Family Fishing Tournament 2008-08-04 12:54:11 At midnight Friday, I headed down to the Merry Pier to meet up with a fishing ‘Dream Team’ - Cap’t Dick, Cap’t Brett, Joe, Pat and Rich. We headed due west in the wee hours to fish the Mike Alstott Charity FishingTournament
. On the way out, we encountered pounding rain, but the winds stayed [...] Read more:Family
Mike Alstott Fishing Tournament 2008-07-31 15:45:14 I’ll be joining Joe, Dick and the gang aboard the Getaway at midnight Friday for the Mike Alstott Family FishingTournament
. We’ll be fishing the offshore portion, targeting big snapper and grouper, and perhaps some of the whopper permit and amberjack haunting the deep water wrecks. Report to follow!
Tropical Storm Fay Fizzles 2008-08-19 13:50:44 Tropical Storm
Fay looks like it may put a crimp in my offshore plans. At least it made a clear miss of the Tampa Bay area, except for some overcast cloud cover. But the wave heights are pretty high offshore. Looks like another Merry Pier weekend ahead.
Last weekend was all about the gag grouper. I [...] Read more:Tropical
Anticipating Snook Season 2008-08-11 10:23:16 The snook were ALL OVER the Merry Pier this weekend. Several dozen were hanging in the current, just in the shade of the pier, watching the schools of baitfish. As soon as a jack or mackeral would scatter the bait, the snook would zip out from under the dock, ambusing the baitfish. A pretty impressive [...] Read more:Anticipating
, Season
Hurrican Ike Screws Up the Gulf 2008-09-15 12:48:42 Fishing this weekend was pretty sad. The tides were running 2-4 feet above normal, due to Hurricane Ike. The water was terrible, with less than a foot of visibility. And… the fish weren’t biting. I did manage a few scattered grouper and 1 snapper, but that was about it.
Between the big tides, the full moon, [...]
Too Much Snook! 2008-09-08 10:29:12 Another weekend, and more fish stories. Tim returned to the Merry Pier on Saturday, but the cobia were elusive. We bagged plenty of medium size grouper, a few snapper, and some very healthy Spanish Mackerel. We saw an 18″ flounder caught, probably the best fish of the day. We had plenty of action early, but [...]
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