Fishing Forum - Tampa Bay Area Fishing Report

Tampa Bay Area Fishing Report Captain Charles Walker 6/23/02 For all you scallopaholics like me, the season opens on July 1st. If you haven’t made your reservations for motels or rental units in the area that you want to go for scallops, you may be too late, but try anyway. Scallops are definitely worth that extra effort. The new boundaries this year include state waters of the Gulf of Mexico from the Pasco-Hernando county line (near Aripeka - latitude 28 degrees, 26.016 minutes North), to the west bank of the Mexico Beach Canal in Bay County (longitude 85 degrees, 25.84 minutes West). The rule closed state waters west of the Mexico Beach Canal. One of my favorite places to go is Steinhatchee. It’s still a little like old Florida, but it’s growing up fast. If you want to try scalloping this year in Steinhatchee, call my friend Gene at Captain Hook (1-800-816-1668 or 1-800-399-1926) and see if he can set you up with a nice place to stay, gather a few friends and family members with masks, snorkels, and dip nets, and get up to Steinhatchee to have some fantastic days on the water and evenings of eating delicious bay scallops as fresh as you can get them. On to the bait house reports: Ruskin Bait and Tackle - 813-641-2325 – Mangrove snapper have been biting well in our part of the Bay this week. Lots of Spanish mackerel have been brought by the shop this week. Cockroach Bay has been giving up a lot of reds this week and Piney Point seems to be the area for trout. Tarpon are biting this week all around the Bay. Buddy’s Bait and Tackle on the Courteney Campbell Causeway in Tampa - 813-287-1026 – Trout and reds have been coming in from around the big bridge for anglers using live shrimp. We’ve also seen a bunch of whiting this week. The snook are still biting for catch and release anglers around the flood gates. Trappman’s Bait and Tackle on Gandy Blvd in St. Petersburg - 727-579-1414- Pompano are biting like crazy at Gandy today (Sunday) using fiddler crabs. Spanish mackerel are thick around the bridge and on around to Picnic Island. Tarpon are biting well as usual around the island and the bridge. Dogfish Tackle on Redington Beach - 727-392-6644- The winds and rains last week have made it tough on the beach but a few tarpon and snook have been caught. Reds are biting today behind the store around the residential docks and canals. Don’s Dock on Madeira Beach - 727-391-3223- Snook, reds, and trout have been biting in the pass and on the flats. A few snook and tarpon are biting along the beach but the weather has been so bad that not many have been out. Pass-a-Grille Bait and Tackle on St. Pete Beach - 727-360-6606- Some really nice keeper grouper have been caught off our dock this week. Mangrove snapper are biting well off the dock also. Our offshore boats have been bringing in some amberjack, grouper and nice snapper from the deeper waters. The Skyway Fishing Pier - 727-865-0668 and the south Skyway - 941-729-0117- Grouper, cobia, bluefish, pompano, tarpon, some sharks, and lots of Spanish mackerel have all been brought in this week. The winds didn’t hurt the fishing as much as expected and everything seems eager to bite. 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 captchas@flfish.com 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/fl Capt. Charlie Walker http://www.flfish.com