Florida Fishing Report: Florida fishing charters.

Our Florida fishing report page offers up to date information on fishing in the Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Tarpon Springs, Orlando and Boca Grande area of Florida's West Coast. For more information on our Florida fishing charters and tarpon fishing charters, please click the link below

Chris Bandl shows off a limit catch of reds and trout

Despite some pesky cold fronts, Father Time is gaining an upper hand on Mother Nature. The days are getting longer. Flowers are blooming and my lawn is returning to a plush green Floratam. In small spurts of warming trends, the fish are feeding in fury and bait is ever so determined to return with tenacity. Mother Nature can only suppress Father Time’s biological time clock for so long. Mother Nature will have no choice but to make up for lost time.

Trout are the first to respond to anything even similar in resemblance to a typical late winter day in Florida. After being knocked into a frozen tundra state of mind for so long, they are wasting no time in making up for their sub par activity thus far. Artificial lures, shrimp and small pinfish are getting a few, but when scaled sardines can be acquired-the fishing can get downright silly. With the right tides phases for a given spot, a warm afternoon and a livewell full of the white crickets, 100 fish days are not uncommon.

Redfish are starting to thaw out as well. March traditionally shows a good push of fish schooling together as they make an exodus from the backwaters to the flats. Often they can be found over and adjacent to the oyster bars absorbing some heat and optimistic about the possibility of some grub.

Snook are the last to respond to the warming days of spring. While many fish will remain in the backcountry, some of the biggest fish of the year will be caught in the following weeks. Large females are often the first to return to the flats in hopes of acquiring some protein needed to restore lost body fat and as a staple necessity to their reproduction cycle. While the neo-tropical fish were stressed by extreme cold the past few months, they dodged a bullet this winter by surviving in temperatures that everyone had doubt they would. Good news for this most prized species of the flats.

Tom Ross with some jumbo spawning sheepies.

Spawning sheephead are making their annual appearance at all the traditional places. I made an offshore trip last week in hopes of loading down the boat with some over-sized hogs. With it being the one of the only nice days we had for sometime, we did not find typical massing in the likes of year’s past---- though we nail down some beauties.

I did stumble in to some juvenile tarpon in a non-traditional location last week. On each attempt to catch them, they snubbed our offerings as they languidly rolled all around the boat. Well, except for this one-day. Fishing Ľ ounce Cotee jigs with glow grub tails-in just 2 hours of fishing we did put 6 fish in the air. A few days prior my partner reported similar results. The key was down scaling our leaders to just 20lb. Unfortunately, that was not enough to hold them as they all sawed through the 20 lb thread after a few aerial displays. The action sparked a total recall of all this fish has given me through time. I then found myself caught in time and was awestruck in an imaginary state of what jewels, gems and gifts the Silver King will bring us in what is now, just a few weeks away.

I have added a photo album archiving all the images on the site, the 200lb. Tarpon Club page is up, a new movie on the video page, and am currently in the final stages working out a CGI script to join our fishing team/mailing list. Check it out!

As in other aspects of life, history has a tendency to repeat itself. In retrospect, the harshest of winters have traditionally yielded some of the best spring fishing over the years. No doubt in my mind it will be again this year.

Tired Arms and Screaming Drags!

Robert McCue

Left to Right: Justin Rowe, 1st mate-Brian Timmons and James Rowe pose for a quick shot with a giant tarpon. Giant tarpon season is just weeks ahead.

Florida Fishing Report: Florida Fishing Charters

Florida Fishing Report:

Florida fishing charters