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Tampa Bay - Saltwater
Capt. Matt Ercoli
June 19, 2003
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Tarpon, tarpon, and more tarpon. That seems to be the only thing I fish for this time of year. Since May, June, and July are the very best months to catch tarpon I guess it makes sense that the night before when I ask, “what do you want to fish for”, 90% of them say tarpon. Tampa bay has become more and more a destination spot for anglers all over the world who seek to do battle with a silver king, and why not, our tarpon fishing rivals Boca Grande and has a quarter of the boat traffic. I have fished both and personally I would say Tampa Bay’s quality of tarpon fishing is better than Boca. Your chances of catching a tarpon are probably about equal, but the fact that Tampa bay has so much less traffic just makes for a better quality experience. So far this year has been my best ever as far as landing fish goes. As far a hook ups go I would say I’m right on track to equal last years, but it seems a few of the small changes I have made in tackle has made a big difference in the number of fish landed. Even on a slow day we have been able to land at least one fish. On my best days this year we boated 4 tarpon in one trip, all over 100 pounds with the largest being 140 or 150. All of the fish where landed before 12 noon, the first fish was hooked around 8 o’clock. That’s what I call power tarpon fishing, especially on 25 to 30 pound tackle. The tarpon fishing is stong now and should continue on strong until around the end of July.
As for other fish, the few days I have targeted other fish we have done well. Snook have been strong, especially now that few people are fishing them and the pressure is off. It’s also a good time for a trophy, the last largest snook was 37 inches.
Redfishing is also quite strong, the day before yesterday we caught probably 15 to 20 and all were in the slot range, most were 22 to 27 inches, perfect eating size.
The offshore fishing is quite good as well. Last week one charter wanted the biggest fish we had available. After 4 consecutive break-offs we managed a 300 to 350 pound goliath grouper. I believe we hooked the big boy that I have been after all season, but even on 130-pound stand up tackle we were no match. I’m pretty sure it was the big boy because he is always the first one to hit. Damn thing nearly broke my back trying to clear the line from the outboard engine as he made a run for the reef. There are plenty of little tunny and mackerel to catch offshore as well as some permit.
Well that pretty much sums up my report, if you are interested in going fishing I still have a few days left in July. Hope you are having a cool summer.
Capt Matt Ercoli
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