09-01-2003, 01:12 PM
Tampa Bay Area
Fishing Report Captain Charles Walker
8/31/03
What a beautiful week this was. It almost seemed like we were back in a Florida summer instead of the tropical rainforest weather that we’ve had for the past few months. Offshore fishing picked up, mainly because the weather allowed everyone to go out more than one day last week. Grouper, triggerfish, mangrove snapper, grunts, porgies, amberjack, barracuda and plenty of Spanish mackerel were biting in waters from 45 to 80 feet deep. Those that ventured farther out brought back some big grouper and red snapper but they traveled a long way for them. The weekend brought some wind and high seas for offshore anglers but the forecasts look good again for the first part of the coming week.
On to the bait house reports:
Ruskin Bait and Tackle - 813-641-2325 – Reds are just jumping in the boat this week. Most of them are really big. Anglers have to fish for several hours just to get a keeper because there are so many of the oversized fish. The Port Manatee area and the artificial reefs are producing lots of mangrove snapper and there have been some nice pompano caught near the Skyway. Trout are still biting on the flats around Cockroach Bay, primarily in the deeper grass flat areas. The bait shrimp are finally getting up to a nice size but the greenbacks are still scarce.
Trappman’s Bait and Tackle on Gandy Blvd in St. Petersburg - 727-579-1414- Reds are biting well on the flats around Coffee Pot, Weedon Island, and the 4th St. Bridge. Some nice mangrove snapper are coming in from the Gandy Bridge. A few cobia have been caught this week and some black drum in the 20 pound class were caught around the bridge pilings.
Pass-a-Grille Bait and Tackle on St. Pete Beach - 727-360-6606- Snapper, grouper, jacks, some Spanish mackerel, and sheepshead have all come from our gas docks this week. Our offshore boats did well earlier in the week until the winds picked up, with grouper, mangrove snapper, and a variety of other fish coming in from water depth of 60 to 120 feet.
The Skyway Fishing Pier - 727-865-0668 and the south Skyway - 941-729-0117- Mangrove snapper are really biting well. Spanish mackerel are biting well and some nice keeper grouper have come in. Some really nice trout have been brought in. Pompano are really biting well, some as big as 15 inches. The best bets for the Spanish mackerel are still Gotcha Plugs and for pompano Doc’s Goofy Jigs.
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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