Quick Cast:
 Area Reports
 Find-a-Guide
 Forums
 Tides

Departments:
 Articles
 Books
 Clubs & Orgs.
 Fishing Reports
 Feedback
 Forums
 Fly Fishing
 Guides & Charters
 Links
 Photo Gallery
 Reef Locator
 Regulations
 Software
 Survey
 Tournaments
 Travel
 Weather
 Home

Administration:
 About Us
 Advertising
 Contact
 Privacy
 Terms of Use
 Web Development

Gulf of Mexico fishing reports

Venice to Cedar Key

Moderator: admin

Gulf of Mexico fishing reports

Postby VikingFleet » Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:25 pm

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Monday's Lazybones trip turned out to be great! The weatherman was wrong, and the sea and wind were not bad at all. Fishing was a bit picky, but anglers landed grunts, a few mangos, a scamp, and a couple of gag groupers. There were shorts in the mix as well. Ken Yuen, all the way from Ottawa, Canada took the jackpot with a 9.5 lb gag grouper, and also went home with a mangrove snapper. Way to go Ken!

Sunday, January 28, 2007

The Superstar left Friday night at 8pm and the weather was awesome. We knew about the front coming in so we were anxious to get out and start fishing; hoping to take advantage of the bite before the front.

We zipped out to the Grounds at 18.5 knots and had lines down at 1am. Somebody forgot to tell the fish that the front was coming, because they didn’t bite too well! Mangos were slow, but we did also manage to land some scamps, red groupers, AJs and a gag

The slow bite seemed to be the theme of the day. Saturday afternoon Capt. Rich decided to go to deeper water, so we went and fished 160 to 200 feet. We nailed a mess of big gags and red grouper. Released over 100 American red snapper, unharmed. Capt. Rich went to Mount AJ, where Tony Fish, of Port Charlotte, FL caught the winning 23 pound amberjack, and Stanley Tinter, of Marco Island, FL caught the second largest grouper in that spot.

We then moved to a deep water wreck where we saw more nice grouper and snapper. Kevin Boatright, of Whitesberg, GA caught the pool winning grouper on this stop, a nice looking 21 pound gag.

After the wreck we went back to middle grounds, it was a slow pick and then the fish started to bite. Their timing couldn’t have been worse, they waited until the exact moment the rain and wind on the front started. Apparently the fish didn’t want to be the only ones soaking wet!

We toughed it out fishing until the wind changed direction, giving us a smoother ride home. We reached the dock 4hrs early. Even though it wasn’t our best fishing trip and the weather didn’t hold out for us, everyone said they had a great time.



Friday, January 26

Great news! The new bunk room on the Superstar is now open with climate control and extra wide bunks! A huge thanks goes out to our customers for being patient while we completed this process.

The 16 hour trip went out Thursday. Although the weather was tough, fishing remained steady throughout the day. Many short groupers were caught, but also, a good amount of keeper gag and red groupers were landed. Also, mangrove snapper, porgies, and key west grunts were caught. Larry Robbins from Media, PA caught the jackpot winning gag weighing in at 9.4 lbs. Jim Graham from Woodbury Hts., NJ took second place honors with a 8.9 lb gag. Congratulations!
Capt. Rich Castellano
www.vikingfleet.com
VikingFleet
Cabin Boy
Cabin Boy
 
Posts: 45
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 11:40 am
Location: Tarpon Springs, FL & Montauk, NY

Postby VikingFleet » Mon Feb 26, 2007 2:50 pm

Sunday, February 25, 2007

24 HOUR FLORIDA MIDDLE GROUNDS REPORT

Fridays weather was calm, sunny and warm. We departed at 12:45pm, a bit late as we waited for a late passenger. In about 5 hrs we were fishing on the middle grounds. Our first stop was on a small spring in 100 feet of water, this spot did not treat us very well. The next few stops gave us a pick of Mangrove Snapper, Vermillion Snapper, Scamp Grouper, Grasby and Rock Hind Grouper and porgies, both red and jolthead. We caught and released many large red grouper and a handful of gag groupers.

Bud Roche of Ft Myers, FL went home with 10 keeper grouper, a stringer full of snapper and a stringer full of porgies. Some passengers caught less and some more, over all it was good fishing for it being February, Man it was cold Friday night. Bob Brown of Orlando took the AJ pool. Bob has caught tons of fish with us, this was his first pool winner! Stanley Tinter of Marco Island won the snapper pool. Good job guys.

We will be doing the 24 Hour trips again this weekend, Friday departs at noon and Saturday departs at 4pm. Give the office a call to get your reservations in. 727 938 5300

We have been doing a lot of cosmetic and amenities work on the Gulfstar and we are almost done. She is looking awesome, as soon as she is done we have a charter and we will be going to some super deep water in the Gulf in search of Queen and Yelloweye Snapper, Snowy, Misty, Yellowedge, Warsaw and Giant Scamp Grouper. There is no Recreational closed season on these and many other groupers in the Gulf of Mexico.

Pics from this trip...

http://www.vikingfleet.com/gallery/gallery.asp?action=viewimage&categoryid=484&text=&imageid=2913&box=&shownew=

http://www.vikingfleet.com/gallery/gallery.asp?action=viewimage&categoryid=484&text=&imageid=2911&box=&shownew=
Capt. Rich Castellano
www.vikingfleet.com
VikingFleet
Cabin Boy
Cabin Boy
 
Posts: 45
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 11:40 am
Location: Tarpon Springs, FL & Montauk, NY

Postby VikingFleet » Mon Mar 26, 2007 12:52 pm

FINALLY…back out to the Middle Grounds. It’s been tough with the grouper closure in federal waters, but now with the season back open we were thrilled to get back out fishing in the Grounds!! The Superstar left Friday night at 6pm; they had awesome weather with flat calm conditions. According to Capt. Rich Friday night’s bite was ok, nothing to write home about; Saturday the grouper bite was on, but nothing else. But by 5pm, HOLD ON! The snapper and grouper were blasting! The snapper bite continued all night.

The 48 anglers on board caught groupers up to 27lbs, snapper up to 7lbs and AJs up to 35lbs. Jerry Matusak of Illinois won the AJ pool with an 18 pounder, Marty Grasso of Spring Hill, FL took the snapper pool with a 7 pounder and Bob Pierson of Clearwater, FL finished things up with a 27lb gag grouper.

Congrats to all the pool winners, it was an awesome trip! More pics on the website…

http://www.vikingfleet.com/gallery/gallery.asp?action=viewimage&categoryid=491&text=&imageid=2960&box=&shownew= Superstar gets home from 44hr trip


http://www.vikingfleet.com/gallery/gallery.asp?action=viewimage&categoryid=491&text=&imageid=2951&box=&shownew= Nice Red Grouper for Marty!!

http://www.vikingfleet.com/gallery/gallery.asp?action=viewimage&categoryid=491&text=&imageid=2959&box=&shownew= Nice groupers for Bob & Joe


[url][/url]
Capt. Rich Castellano
www.vikingfleet.com
VikingFleet
Cabin Boy
Cabin Boy
 
Posts: 45
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 11:40 am
Location: Tarpon Springs, FL & Montauk, NY

New trips added! Check it out!!!

Postby VikingFleet » Sun Jun 10, 2007 10:30 am

SPECIAL 2 DAY DEEPWATER TRIP

Capt. Rich has just added an awesome trip to our schedule; we are now taking reservations for a Special 2 Day Deep Water trip on Tuesday, July 17th.

This 44-hour trip will depart on July 17th at 11pm and return on Thursday, July 19th at 7pm. Electric reels are ok to bring, we will also have them for rent at $50 each. NO spinning tackle for bottom fishing and 80 lb. test is a minimum requirement. We’ll be fishing between 180 and 360 feet.

The cost is $550 per person, this will include fishing license, frozen and live bait, parking and of course all meals and beverages. In addition, the limit will be 10 anglers!

Get your reservations in quickly, this one will fill up before you know it!

2ND ANNUAL 4TH OF JULY CRUISE

We are also now accepting reservations for our Annual 4th of July Cruise. The Gulfstar will depart the dock on July 4th at 8pm and return at 11pm; the cost is $30 per person. We will supply light snacks, but feel free to bring your own refreshments as well.

We’ll take a leisurely cruise out to Anclote Island and view the area fireworks. Last year was a spectacular evening, don’t miss it this year!

24 HOUR JIG’EM UP TRIP

As promised, Capt. Rich is adding a special 24 Hour Jigging trip to the June schedule! On Wednesday, June 20th, the Gulfstar will head out for 24 hrs with a limit of 20 passengers.

The cost will be $250 per person; this price includes 1 Gulfstar special diamond jig for each angler as well as soda and coffee. No galley services will be available; however the microwave will be accessible to anyone who wishes to use it. Departure will be on Wed., June 20th at 12:00 A.M. and returns at 12:00 A.M. Thursday June 21st.

Captains Rich, Carl and George have been fishing on their days off, practicing their jigging techniques and fishing some different areas. They are SUPER excited about finally getting this trip on the books! Get your reservations in soon…this one is limited to only 20 anglers.

Give us a call at 727-938-5300 or check out the website
http://www.vikingfleet.com
Capt. Rich Castellano
www.vikingfleet.com
VikingFleet
Cabin Boy
Cabin Boy
 
Posts: 45
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 11:40 am
Location: Tarpon Springs, FL & Montauk, NY

TWO boats now fishing in Tarpon Springs!!

Postby VikingFleet » Sun Oct 28, 2007 12:46 pm

The 2007-2008 Season has officially kicked off with two 44-Hour Florida Middle Grounds trips under our belts. Below are a few reports...

We are SUPER excited about the 4-Day Long Range trip coming up. The Gulfstar is headed out on Nov 4th to do some deepwater grouper (snowy, yellow-edge, scamp, kitty mitchell, mystic & black) fishing. We'll also be targeting Mahi, Wahoo, Tuna, Marlin and Sailfish. We can't wait!

REPORTS:

The Superstar returned from our 44hr trip with a decent catch. We started fishing at 1:30am Sat. morning and saw a slow pick of mangos, ARS, and Red Groupers. During the daytime on Saturday, we picked away at Gags, Red Groupers, mangos, vermillions, scamps, American Reds, and porgies. The second night saw an improvement in snapper fishing where some anglers were able to fill their limits. The second day, we stopped at 3 different wrecks and were rewarded with big amberjacks, some gags, and more American Reds. Mary Towler took the grouper pool with a 16 lb gag, Randy Randell took the snapper pool with a 9 lb ARS, and Stainley Tainter took the AJ pool with a 52 lb donkey! Congrats everyone, and we look forward to another great season! The Superstar will head right back out tonight to the Middle Grounds on the annual Southeast Tackle charter.
The Mosaic Company of Plymouth, MN spent a Half Day fishing Wednesday on the Gulfstar. They did great! Doug and the rest of his group came home with 2 keeper gags and released over 100 short gag groupers. Plenty of sea bass and grunts were caught and a cobia was released. We are hoping to see the Mosaic Company spend another day fishing with us again soon.

Capt. Rich took the Gulfstar on another Half Day trip yesterday. Over 40 short gag groupers were released with 5 keepers. They also caught many sea bass and grunts plus released a black tip shark.

The Gulfstar has a full schedule of Half Day fishing, be sure to check out the link above. Our first 16 Hour Extended Day of the season is sailing on Thursday, Octobert 25 and 8 Hour All Day trips will start on Monday, November 5th.
Capt. Rich Castellano
www.vikingfleet.com
VikingFleet
Cabin Boy
Cabin Boy
 
Posts: 45
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 11:40 am
Location: Tarpon Springs, FL & Montauk, NY

Gulf of Mexico report 11/16/2007

Postby VikingFleet » Wed Nov 21, 2007 8:37 pm

Capt. Carl just returned from our 44 hour middle grounds trip with a great show of fish!!

The weather was flat and beautiful the whole weekend and the fish were biting!! We started off with a bang, according to Capt. Carl. The mangos were biting pretty good, and the Red Groupers were coming up all over, and were all nice keepers! When daybreak came, we tried a large ledge for groupers and Ajs, but only had a few AJ bites, and busted off a LOT of fish, so, we moved on. We worked around the grounds until about 1 pm catching scamps, red groupers, porgies, etc., but things were slow. Then, we moved off to a wreck that produced a pair of 25 pound gags, along with some Ajs. After that, we moved on for our late afternoon slam!! There were more Red Groupers, lots of Gags, mangoes, and everything else biting like crazy into the night! By 11pm, the boat was at our Red Grouper limit, most anglers had their snapper limits, and we had kings coming as well!! Capt. Jerry tried some other spots that produced big Vermillion Snappers, and MORE GAGS!! The next morning we found some more Ajs on another wreck to round things out! It was a great trip, with Jim taking the Grouper pool with a 25 pound gag, Stainley Tainter took the AJ pool with a 34 pounder, and Earl Baptiste (ALL THE WAY FROM TORONTO!!!) won the snapper pool with a 9.8 lb mango! Thanks everyone!






pics can be seen here: http://vikingfleet.com/gallery/gallery.asp?categoryid=741
Capt. Rich Castellano
www.vikingfleet.com
VikingFleet
Cabin Boy
Cabin Boy
 
Posts: 45
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2005 11:40 am
Location: Tarpon Springs, FL & Montauk, NY


Return to Florida - West Coast

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests

Copyright © 1997-2024, CyberAngler - All Rights Reserved
Privacy Policy :: Terms of Use
For Questions and comments please use our Feedback Form

Back to the Top
cron