Inshore and Offshore Report
Capt. Troy Mainzer
October 21, 2013
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Hey guys, Saturday I took a group of six guys offshore for some grouper fishing. It was flat calm and we quickly were 26 miles offshore in 90 feet of water. For the next two hours the guys pulled up grouper after grouper, mostly reds with a few gags mixed in. They pulled 4 keeper reds off this spot as well as some lane snapper. We headed a few miles north to another spot in 80 feet of water where they pulled another 4 keeper reds up as well as a bunch of shorts. We hooked a few big fish that couldnt be stopped and took us in the rocks, probably big gags. The biggest red was 26 inches. We also caught a nice kingfish on a live blue runner. He skied 6 feet out of the water when he ate it, cool sight. We ended the day with 8 keeper grouper, 3 snapper, and a kingfish. Plenty of meat for everybody to take home. The grouper fishing will continue to get better and the gags will move in a little closer once this cold front comes through. The kingfishing is only going to get better, there was some huge fish caught in the Wild West tournament last weekend and I have heard reports of some nice fish right off the beach. Many of the huge kings in the 30-50 lb range are still way offshore but the colder water should push them our way.
On Sunday I ran an inshore charter in Tampa Bay. After about an hour I had my livewell filled with greenbacks and picked up my clients at 8:30. We dealt with a real low tide for most of the 4 hour trip which made fishing a little more difficult but still decent. They started things out with a nice flounder for dinner and missed a redfish. We relocated and found a big school of oversize reds. It took awhile before the bite turned on but then we caught two nice ones, one of which was 33 inches. They ended the trip with a solid 25 inch slot redfish. It was a tough morning but the guys stuck through it and managed a few nice fish.
I will try to get some pictures up soon.
Tight lines,
Captain Troy Mainzer
[email protected]
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