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Tampa Bay - Saltwater
Capt. Matt Ercoli
June 25, 2001
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Well we have gone and done it again for the second time this year. We broke the 200-pound mark on tarpon. I must say this is shaping up to be the best tarpon season ever for me. Robin Eby boated a tarpon that was 8ft long. With certainty Robins fish was well over 200 pounds. What a sight to watch that fish leaping into the air, a sight too never forget. Thankfully we did have a camera on board so I will be posting the pictures to my web site in a few weeks. What?s even more amazing is that Robin and his father fished a half-day the very next day and jumped five fish. Not one would have gone less than 150LB, they where all monsters but we boated only one of the fish, 82 inches long. We did not take the girth but the fish was every bit larger than 175 - 180in. The tarpon are just larger this year. Its no secret giant tarpon are being boated all over the West Coast of Florida. This will be known as the year of the giants. If you haven?t heard, the fly world record was broken a few weeks ago. The weight is pending at 202LB, caught at Homossassa. It will be interesting to see how long this great action lasts. So far our tarpon fishing continues to hold strong.
Giant tarpon is only the icing on the cake though, how about 300LB jewfish, largest of the grouper family. That?s right, the day before yesterday we landed two between 200 and 300 pounds. Your chances of hooking one of these goliath grouper is 100%, the only problem is hooking one small enough that he can be brought to the surface. My guys have hooked plenty between 400 and 500 LB but they are just too much to handle. I have never had any one whip one of these big boys; they are just too strong.
The little tunny action has finally come on stong and many fly fishermen are having a ball with them. At 10 to 15 pounds, these little sticks of dynamite can bring a 9- weight fly rod 200 yd. into the backing. The Spanish mackerel are also thick, mixed in with the little tunny, a large one measures 24 inches and puts up a great fight on lite tackle or 7-weight fly rod.
Black tip sharks are very consistent action for us right now. I would have to consider these guys to be some of the most sporting sharks we fish for. Their blazing runs and high flying leaps make them a very sporting quarry on fly and conventional gear alike. Most of the blacks we catch this time of year average 5 to 7 ft and can reach 150 pounds. So dig your heals in and hold on.
Snook action is also pretty hot right now. The snook are in peak spawning mode and when you?re on them many times your on a lot of them. Although the tarpon fishing and offshore fishing has made up the majority of my fishing over the last two weeks we have also done a little snook fishing. Last week we caught a snook that measured 41 inches, not too shabby for not even trying, (just kidding).
Well I hope you have enjoyed my report, I have some availability left in July if you?re interested. The weather is hot but so is the fishing. Tarpon, goliath grouper, and all kinds of sharks. If you want to catch something that will do more than just tug on a line this is the month to do it.
Good luck fishing and I hope you?re having a great summer! Capt. Matt
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