Page 1 of 1

VORTEX Charters Fishing Report 5/11/2005--Tampa Bay

PostPosted: Wed May 11, 2005 7:19 am
by captchuck
With a flat, calm Gulf, Dave Shank of Lakeland along with a couple of friends headed out with me on Saturday in search of Grouper and Kingfish.

Our first stop at 55 feet produced many Red and gag Grouper, with most running an inch below the legal limit. Dave’s friend Shane, whose birthday was Saturday struggled with a monster for several minutes until we all got a clear view of it.
All ten feet of Nurse Shark, that is!
After a few pictures, we released her unharmed.

Next stop was the South County Reef. With 20 or so boats converged on it, we decided to troll just outside of the ‘parking lot’.
We brought in a few large Spanish Mackerel and one small King, before Shane was on another “Monster”.

The ensuing fight lasted 30 minutes and Shane had another birthday present—a 30 pound King!

Monday, Columbus, Ohio resident Steve Sowers and I headed deeper into the Gulf.
First stop was 85 feet, where Steve brought up numerous Gags and Red Grouper.
We ventured out to 100 feet, but the fish were scattered. Returning to 90 feet, Steve put 3 Red Grouper in the box, the longest 27 inches long. Next, we headed over to the reef again for some King action. They did not disappoint as Steve added 2 Kings and 1 large Spanish to the box.

Tight Lines!
Capt. Chuck MacIntyre
www.vortexcharters.com