Fishing Forum

Tampa Bay Area

Fishing Report Captain Charles Walker

7/13/03

I got a report Saturday morning that the reds were just thick in the north end of the Bay and biting just about everything thrown at them. As you will read the rest of the Bay faired pretty well also this past week. The full moon on Sunday will slow down the offshore grouper fishing until about the end of the week but they will still bite, just a little slower. Of course the snapper will bite like crazy at night during this full moon period and those of you with large enough boats might want to take advantage of that.

On to the bait house reports:
Ruskin Bait and Tackle - 813-641-2325 – Reds and trout are biting on the bars near the Skyway. Everything else seems to have slowed down a little this week, or maybe lots of people have just gone on vacation this week.
Minnows and Monsters in Tampa – 813-835-1512 – Snook are abundant around the rocky areas of the Bay. Reds are biting towards the south end of the Bay. White bait is tough to find in the middle Bay right now. Tarpon are still biting well around the bridges and with the upcoming full moon should really take off.
Fisherman’s World in Tarpon Springs, 727-942-8944 – Snook are thick around the Island early and late in the day. Reds are in the really skinny water, but you have to be very quiet to see them. Trout are in 3-4’ of water on the grass flats and are biting as long as you stay away from the scallopers, but if you catch a hard flowing tide along the mangroves, that’s where the snook and bigger trout will be hanging out.
Trappman’s Bait and Tackle on Gandy Blvd in St. Petersburg - 727-579-1414- Pompano, mangrove snapper, and some cobia have been caught at the Gandy Bridge this week. Some reds and trout are being caught on the flats around Weedon Island and in the Coffee Pot area.
Marina Outpost on Bay Pines Blvd. – 727-384-3474 – Nice reds and trout and been coming in this week from around the Bay Pines area. Lots of snook have been caught as well near the Pass and around the residential dock in the area.
Don’s Dock on Madeira Beach - 727-391-3223- Snapper have really been biting during this full moon. Lots of gags and American reds have been caught as well. Blackfin tuna have been brought in as well as lots of AJ’s. The snook and mangrove snapper have been biting like crazy around our dock this week and there have been a few cobia caught in the pass also.
Fathoms on the Dock at Maximo in St. Petersburg – 727-867-3603 – Offshore the grouper and red snapper were really biting earlier in the week 40 miles or so offshore. Stretch 25’s have been bringing in some grouper this week from the channel. Big reds were ganged up close to the marina this week and lots of them at the high end of the slot were caught with a lot of bigger ones that had to be released.
Pass-a-Grille Bait and Tackle on St. Pete Beach - 727-360-6606- Grouper and mangrove snapper have been the offshore catches of the week. Around our gas dock, the mangrove snapper seem to be just thick.
The Skyway Fishing Pier - 727-865-0668 and the south Skyway - 941-729-0117- Spanish mackerel have picked up again this week and mangrove snapper are just biting like crazy at night particularly. Pompano have been biting well on both ends of the Piers and speckled trout are coming over the rail as well. Most of the grouper have been shorts but a few keepers have been brought in this week.

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: [url "http://www.floridasaltwater.com/"][#800080]http://www.floridasaltwater.com[/#800080][/url] .

Good fishing and tight lines,

Capt. Charlie

http://www.flfish.com
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