Florida fishing guide, Captain Ed Walker

Common gamefish of the Tampa Bay area

The estuarine waters of the Tampa Bay-Clearwater-Tarpon Springs area are teeming with life. On just about any given day there are at least a dozen gamefish that can be targeted or caught incidentally during a days fishing, depending upon the anglers preferences. The possible combinations are endless. Here’s a few common scenarios to give you an idea of some of the species you are likely to encounter while spending a day on the water with us during a given season:

A typical winter flats fishing trip: (December-January-February)

Depending on the conditions we’ll probably start out by casting artificials such as jerkbaits or jigs for the big speckled trout that move into the shallow grass flats during the cooler months. While casting these lures you will also catch more ladyfish than you really want to. They are a close relative of the tarpon with similar fighting skills but generally only weigh a few pounds. A few trout later you may tie into a big redfish or maybe a half dozen. Moving from one spot to another it is common to encounter schools of bluefish or monster jack cravelles. Out come the topwater plugs and a wild feeding frenzy and fierce drag ripping battles commence. When we find the blues and jacks they are usually in such large numbers that they can actually become too easy after a while prompting some tired folks inquire about moving on to the reds. (some prefer plugging the 12 pound jacks and leaping bluefish all day which is OK too, its your day so you make the decisions.) Moving up closer to the mangroves we may cast shrimp or gold spoons along the tree line in pursuit of the big redfish that lurk there. This can produce good quantities of redfish from 4 to 12 pounds. If the winds come up we may instead head into a calm river or residential canal and fish live shrimp under the docks. This not only produces redfish but sheepshead, black drum, snook, flounder, ladyfish, speckled trout, small groupers, and even an occasional small tarpon.   When its get’s real cold, a whole new fishing scenario opens up. The Tarpon Springs power-plant produces a warm water plume that attracts a huge variety of fish when the surrounding waters get chilly. Common daily catches here include combinations of pompano, permit, cobia, mackerel, snook, trout, silver trout, big jack cravelle, bluefish, more ladyfish, small tarpon, sheepshead, drum, redfish, and even goliath grouper.

A typical spring or fall fishing trip: (March-April-October-November)

Spring and fall are transition periods here in the Tampa Bay-Clearwater-Tarpon Springs area. It is now that the migratory patterns of many fish converge and overlap in our local waters. These migrating fish nearly double the list of potential fish species that may end up on your hook during the course of the day.

If you elect to stay inshore on the flats, we will be loading up the baitwell with 500 to 1000 scaled sardines. Then we may work the mangroves and backwater oyster bars for the Grand Slam; which here consists of a snook, trout, and redfish in the same day. Landing all three is considered a great honor for many flats fishermen and we pull it off more often than not. In fact, we sometimes catch all three at a single stop. Casting live bait also produces jacks, lots of jacks…sometimes too many jacks. Flounder, snapper, and small tarpon are also common. Moving from spot to spot it is very common, especially in the spring, to find cobia cruising the flats or see a tasty tripletail hanging around a floating buoy. Sharks up to 75 pounds are fairly easy to catch if that’s your thing. Spanish mackerel and the ever present ladyfish are possibilities just about anywhere you toss a line in. Permit and pompano run the beaches as do the early and late season snook.

Spring and fall are also excellent periods for nearshore/offshore gulf fishing too. This is prime season to fish for migrating kingfish. These can run anywhere from 14 pounds to 45 pounds or more. Mixed in with them we also find grouper, bonito, Spanish mackerel, sharks, barracuda, and even an occasional sailfish. As always, we fish the lightest tackle for the most sport. Gag grouper fishing gets really good at this time as well. The gag grouper move in closer to shore to feed when the temperatures are moderate. This is a fishery you just have to see to believe.

Out on the big wrecks (and some small secret ones) we catch big permit. Not may guides in the Tampa Bay-Clearwater-Saint Petersburg area target them but we do and when its working the action can be fantastic. These wrecks also produce hard fighting amberjack, goliath grouper, blackfin tuna, gag grouper, red grouper, and excellent mangrove snapper fishing.

A typical late summer trip:

May and June are strictly tarpon fishing months for us. We catch a few other fish along the way but due to huge demand we stick to tarpon fishing then. In July we begin to mix it up again. Tarpon are still here but start to thin out. Permit fishing is still great out on the wrecks with fish up to 30 pounds common. Snook fishing is excellent on the beaches (link to snook page). Pompano are still running the beaches and redfishing can be solid. For big fun in the late summer we also target the sharks (25 to 150 pounds) on spinning tackle and the goliath grouper (huge). We also have great a great summer fishery for juvenile tarpon that weigh from 5 to 25 pounds. These little tarpon are one of the captains favorites.

What you fish for on your trip is up to you! Capt. Ed will usually contact a day or two  before your trip and give you a run down of what’s been hot lately and give you some options. Whatever sounds best to you, that’s what we’ll do. If you (or the kids) prefer the non-stop action of mackerel and bonito or jigging for trout, that’s fine with us. If you’d rather put in the time to try to coax a 20 pound snook that’s good too.

If you would like to join us on a Gamefishing experience please drop us an email or give us a Call at (727) 944-FISH (3474) today to book your guided Gamefishing trip.