Tampa Bay Area
Fishing Report
Captain Charles Walker
9/28/03
Even though the weather was beautiful inland over the last week, those that ventured offshore got roughed up for the most part. The grouper do not seem to be moving inshore yet but there are still some being caught in the ship’s channel inside Tampa Bay. Lots of Spanish mackerel are being caught along the beaches and on the reef just offshore and a few lost kings have been reported this week. I figure another two to three weeks before we start to see any real numbers of the school kings and we’ll most likely start catching grouper in less than 60 feet of water around the same time
On to the bait house reports:
Ruskin Bait and Tackle - 813-641-2325 – Good sized reds are biting well in the *beep* Bay area. Mangrove snapper are also biting in the same area as well as on the artificial reefs and in the Port Manatee channel. Grouper are biting pretty well on the north side of the Skyway in the channel.
Trappman’s Bait and Tackle on Gandy Blvd in St. Petersburg - 727-579-1414- Lots of snook at 4th Street, Coffee Pot and Shore Acres are hitting pins and select shrimp. Reds are all over the flats, mostly in sizes overt the slot limit. Sheepshead are showing at Gandy. Mangroves have slowed, but those caught are larger. Pompano and Spanish mackerel are showing up at Gandy Bridge at odd times and the mullet have grown really big and fat.
Marina Outpost on Bay Pines Blvd. – 727-384-3474 – Reds, snook and sheepshead are the inshore species of the week and have been biting around residential docs and in the canals. Some nice black drum were caught in the area last week as well. Most of the offshore guys went deep this week, 120 feet or better and really got beat up by the rough water.
Fathoms on the Dock at Maximo in St. Petersburg – 727-867-3603 – Spanish mackerel have been biting pretty well in the Egmont area. Some flounder have been brought in from the Ft. DeSoto area and plenty of oversized reds have been caught all over the flats. Our offshore fishermen that fished in the tournament over the weekend, brought in grouper up to 28 pounds, dolphin up to 10 pounds, and other offshore species.
Pass-a-Grille Bait and Tackle on St. Pete Beach - 727-360-6606- Some nice grouper were brought in this week from offshore. Mangrove snapper have been biting well off our gas dock during the week. We had a group fishing the flats this week and they caught plenty of reds, pompano and some trout.
The Skyway Fishing Pier - 727-865-0668 and the south Skyway - 941-729-0117- Some really nice Spanish mackerel have been coming in this week. Threadfins moved into the area this week and the sardines seem to have left. Mangrove snapper and grunts are biting well. A few keeper snook have been caught and lots of jacks are around the piers this week.
Folks, feel free to call any of the places in my report for more information, and be sure to tell them that you read about the fishing in their area in Capt. Charlie’s fishing report on the Internet.
If you want more information about fishing in the Tampa Bay area or wish to book a charter, simply e-mail me at [email protected] or if you wish to arrange a charter faster, call me at 727-546-7257. Be sure and visit my web site for lots more Tampa Bay Area fishing info at: http://www.floridasaltwater.com .
Good fishing and tight lines,
Capt. Charlie
http://www.flfish.com
