Sept 18, 2007
Boy what a month of fishing! If you have not booked a trip with a Tampa Bay Fishing Charter you are missing out. Finally the air and water temperature has come down and the bite is hot and heavy! We have been catching Snook, Redfish, Tarpon, Snapper, Grouper, and Mackerel all in our local waters of the Tampa Bay. This month we fished from the Manatee River (between Bradenton and Palmetto), Anna Maria Island up to the Tampa Bay Shipping Channel. Boy there is almost too much to cover in just one report!
Our Tampa Bay Tarpon Fishing is still a hot topic. This month we have caught a few Tarpon using white bait in local residential communities in the Bradenton / Palmetto areas and there are several big fish hanging in bait pods in the Tampa Bay. Most of the fish inland have been up to 30 lbs which is a blast on light tackle using 12 lb test line and the fish in the Tampa Bay have been up to 100 pounds with is great for the seasoned angler looking to tackle a big tarpon on light line. These fish make amazing acrobatic jumps and strip line from a reel like you have never seen! This definitely is a must see for any fisherman!
The backwater Snook fishing has also been extremely hot also. We are free lining white bait along Mangrove Lines with shallow grass flats with lots of success. Most of the Snook we have caught have been between 25 to 32 inches and in good numbers. We have been fishing Terra Cia Bay, Miguel Bay, and Perico Island which are the surrounding waters of Palmetto, Bradenton, and Anna Maria Island. Snook season opened September 1st and you don't want to miss out on the heart pounding action of catching a local Tampa Bay Snook; stripping drag and bending your rod!
Our Tampa Bay Redfish Fishing has also been hot. We have been catching Redfish from lonesome sand bars on the Tampa Bay to Mangrove Lines with Oyster Bars in the backwaters of Terra Cia Bay. The bait of choice has been white bait and when you are on them they will eat.
The Tampa Bay Grouper, Snapper, and Mackerel fishing has really been the story. On the days with unproductive tides or water to high to get to the Snook, these fish have really been the life saver. The Tampa Bay Shipping Channel has several rock piles that have been holding Snapper and Grouper. We have been bottom fishing with live bait using white bait or Pinfish. There's also tons of white bait around the Skyway Bridge and holding lots of Mackerel. This time of year with the weather cooling down the fishing really turns on! Don't miss out on a fun filled day tackling a monster fish with a Captain Wayne Johnson with Extreme Flats Fishing!
What a fantastic day of fishing! I picked up my clients at Anna Maria Island @ 8:00am on the near perfect morning. I told them there were some nice Snapper hanging on a rock pile in the Tampa Bay and they were game. We anchored up and at first they where were several missed bites. I looked at my clients and said that those Snapper were really kicking your butts! Then I followed up with you really needed to concentrate and set the hook before they bite. Once they got the bite down we limited out in no time on the Tampa Bay Mangrove Snapper ranging in size from 14 to 20 inches. Boy you can really get spoiled catching nice Snapper like these without an hour ride offshore. I told my fellas that there were some birds diving about ½ a mile away and we should check it out. Well there were some nice Tarpon in this massive pod of bait. We anchored up and watched the Tarpon feed and finally it was fish on! The battle did not last long on the light line but it was the battle of a life time for a short period of time. What a great day of fishing we ended up with our limit in Snapper, several Mackerel, and jumped a 100lb Tarpon.
