Fishing Forum - Tampa Bay area Fishing Report

Tampa Bay Area Fishing Report Captain Charles Walker 5/13/01 Happy Mother’s Day, and I hope that a lot of mothers went fishing with their sons and daughters on this holiday. The past week has produced some really fantastic fishing offshore in the Tampa Bay area for a change. The mangrove snapper were voracious and there were some really big gag and red grouper caught. There were a few king and Spanish mackerel caught offshore, with most of the kings small and the Spanish large. I wish I had been able to take a few more anglers out this week, but the wind was only down for a few days. Hopefully this is the beginning of some normal weather patterns for us and the winds will stay away. On to the bait house reports: Ruskin Bait and Tackle - 813-641-2325- A little bait has started to move onto the flats finally. The fishing has been great when the wind let our anglers get out into the Bay. The grouper have been coming in from the ship’s channel and a lot of mangrove snapper have been biting well. The Trout have been really biting well and the fish just seem to be getting bigger and bigger. Some tarpon have finally moved into the Skyway Bridge area and plenty of anglers are hooking up with them. Buddy’s Bait and Tackle on the Courteney Campbell Causeway in Tampa - 813-287-1026 – A few reds have been caught right along the big bridge on live shrimp. There are still some snook along the floodgates for anglers using pinfish for bait. Whiting still keep showing up for those anglers fishing at night. Bonnie’s Bait and Tackle in Clearwater - 727-446-2772- A lot of Spanish mackerel are coming in from the beach. Snook are in all the passes and are biting well at night. Large trout are being caught on the outside of Caladesi Island. Reds are being caught on the flats around Anclote and there seem to be lots of pompano on the beaches. Dogfish Tackle on Redington Beach - 727-392-6644- A variety of fish were caught off the Redington Long Pier this week, kingfish, trout, reds, and pompano. Along the beaches pompano kept everyone busy that was using Doc’s Goofy Jigs tipped with a shrimp piece fished in and just outside the swash channel. Don’s Dock on Madeira Beach - 727-391-3223- Kings are still being caught offshore this week and grouper and mangrove snapper have been biting well. Some Spanish mackerel are being caught by the boats trolling for kings and bonita are filling in the slack times. Inshore fishing has been improving with trout and reds being caught on the flats and snook in the passes at night. Pass-a-Grille Bait and Tackle on St. Pete Beach - 727-360-6606- Our offshore boats have been busy this week with king mackerel, mangrove snapper and grouper. There have been some grouper caught at our gas dock as well as a few Spanish mackerel. Lots of jacks, and Spanish mackerel have been caught on the jetty on the Gulf side. Tarpon have moved into the area and the drifters have been hooking up regularly this week. The Skyway Fishing Pier - 727-865-0668 and the south Skyway - 941-729-0117- Redfish, lots of Spanish mackerel and silver trout, some sheepshead and a few sharks have all been brought in over the last few days. Several tarpon have been hooked this week and as the water warms we should see a lot more of them. 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