05-19-2002, 10:11 PM
Tampa Bay Area <br>Fishing Report<br>Captain Charles Walker<br>5/19/02<br><br>Lots of large Spanish mackerel, some close to 9 pounds, are being caught inside Tampa Bay now. Along the main ship’s channel between the Skyway and Howard Frankland Bridge as well as the cutoffs to Port Manatee, St. Petersburg, Alafia River, and Old Port Tampa are good places to look for the larger ones. Live bait will produce better than anything else and you need 3-4 inch greenbacks for the best results. Tarpon have also moved up into the Bay around all the bridges and are numerous enough to be considered a nuisance by anglers targeting Spanish and other species. We’ll have a couple of months of good tarpon fishing now, so if your goal is to bag a tarpon, come on down and let’s go fishing!<br>On to the bait house reports:<br>Ruskin Bait and Tackle - 813-641-2325 – We’re fresh water fishing in the parking lot today because of all the rain since last night, but the snapper and grouper fishing is picking up in the ship’s channel now as well. Some really nice reds and big trout have been coming in this week. Small tarpon have moved into the river and there are plenty of the big ones by the Skyway.<br>Buddy’s Bait and Tackle on the Courteney Campbell Causeway in Tampa - 813-287-1026 - Lots of trout have been coming in from the big bridge. Snook are being caught on the Clearwater side and in the flood gates on the Tampa side of the causeway.<br>Trappman’s Bait and Tackle on Gandy Blvd in St. Petersburg - 727-579-1414- Mangrove snapper are biting well at the bridge. Cobia are still around the end of the bridge. Trout are coming in from the grass flats for anglers using select shrimp.<br>Dogfish Tackle on Redington Beach - 727-392-6644- Tarpon have been caught off the pier this week. Snook nave been caught and released off the beaches and passes. Spanish mackerel are still biting well off the beach and the pier. Offshore boats are still catching a lot of blackfin tuna at the shrimp boats in the early morning.<br>Pass-a-Grille Bait and Tackle on St. Pete Beach - 727-360-6606- Mangrove snapper and flounder have been coming in off the gas dock this week. Our offshore boats have been bringing in blackfin tuna, mangrove snapper, and grouper this week.<br>The Skyway Fishing Pier - 727-865-0668 and the south Skyway - 941-729-0117- Lots of tarpon have been hooked this week. Some nice kings have been coming in on the north pier and lots of cobia have been seen and caught this week. Mangrove snapper are starting to bite well. Sheepshead are still coming over the rail and grouper are off and on. Spanish mackerel are still around in good numbers and will probably be there all summer, we hope. <br><br>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.<br><br>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 .<br><br>Good fishing and tight lines,<br>Capt. Charlie<br>http://www.flfish.com/fl<br><br><br><br>Capt. Charlie Walker<br>http://www.flfish.com