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Tampa Bay - Saltwater
Capt. Matt Ercoli
June 7, 2001
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Well, hope you haven?t forgotten about me, I know it?s been awhile since I?ve had a fishing report. Believe me when I say it?s not because the fishing is slow.
We are now into prime tarpon time. The tarpon are everywhere this time of year (classic shallow water tarpon fishing). See the fish, stalk the fish, cast to the fish and hopefully watch him swim over and eat your bait so you can set the hook on him. Can fishing get any more exciting than that? I had one particular day this week where we actually stalked a school of tarpon for an hour and a half in shallow ultra clear water before we had the perfect opportunity. The anticipation is the most exciting thing you can ever experience. Finally I was able to maneuver the boat successfully in the path of the approaching tarpon. Every cast had been made perfectly and we watched as the fish approached. I though they where going to swim right under the boat, suddenly a fish ran to the surface and popped my clients bait. He was so close to the boat I could have touched him with the end of my fishing rod. Suddenly the fight was on, what a spectacular moment. That wasn?t the largest fish Dan jumped that day, but the anticipation of the hunt definitely made it the most memorable. It?s the shallow clear water stalk that is ingrained in your head forever. I could do it everyday and each time it?s as exciting as the first. Whether it?s on a fly or live bait, I honesty believes shallow water tarpon is the pinnacle of exciting fishing.
Well as I said, tarpon fishing is prime with some great days these past couple of weeks. Two weeks ago we landed a tarpon on live bait that would have weighed between 190 and 200 pounds. It was the largest tarpon I have ever had in my boat in my guiding career. It was absolute breath taking to watch him jump. When I finally put my hands on his ruff bonny mouth to pull the hook I couldn?t believe the awesome size of the fish. Certainty I will never forget that movement. It?s an interesting fact that scientist speculate that a tarpon of that size could be 50 to 60 years of age. To think we out smarted a fish that day which was twice my age makes me wonder if that tarpon had ever been caught before.
Well guys enough about tarpon, if you can ever get enough. The snook fishing has been really hot. We had a day this week when we boated around 70 snook, and left them biting. I bet we could have caught a hundred had we tried. Triple hook ups for 3 hours in shallow clear water, it was incredible. My partner Shawn had similar success. He?s been catching more keepers right now than he has all year. Now that the tarpon and permit are biting, some of the pressure has been taken off the snook. They are becoming easier to catch again, especially those elusive larger ones.
As for trout I have been catching lots of them, but only one out of five are keepers. The spring giant trout action has died off. While we are on the subject I would like to congratulate Tim Morgan for the largest trout I have ever seen, he caught it with me about 3 weeks ago. Its length of 291/2 inches was impressive, but the girth on this fish was unbelievable. I think I can safely say without exaggerating that the fish weighed close to 10 LBs.
Red fishing is beginning to pick up a little. We are catching a few big bull reds over 30 inches and a few slot fish. Still there isn?t any real consistency in the red fishing. Lets just say I wouldn?t spend the whole day chasing them.
I am still catching a few big cobia, we had two forty inchers this week, but the shallow water sight fishing for them has slacked off.
Near shore fishing for permit, little tunny and blacktip sharks is really turning on now. We have been catching lots of sharks in the 5 to 7 ft range. We also lost several Jew fish in the 200 to 400 LB range. Just to damn big to beat I guess. A colleague of mine, Jason Ramsey, boated two this week in the 250 to 300 LB range. We have also caught quite a few little tunny in the 12 to 15 pound range, and have taken a few on fly. I just started fooling with permit yesterday; we lost one that would have been better that 30 pounds. I haven?t been seeing a lot of them but the fish that are there seemed to be giants.
Well, hope you have enjoyed my report, I still have a few tarpon days available if you are interested. July is right around the bend. Giant Jews, spectacular shark fishing, lots of permit, little tunny, and we are still catching tarpon. I will also be offering night shark charters in July and August. It?s the best time of year for shark fishing in Tampa bay; one of the most shark invested areas in the world. Black tips, bull sharks, hammerhead, and many more.
See ya on the water, Capt. Matt
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