Tampa Bay Offers a Variety of Summer Fishing

It’s Late May and summer is here. As the summer vacation starts for most we get very busy for Tampa fishing charters. Water Temperature on the flats can heat up to 90 degrees by mid day during this time of year. This is a great time to take advantage of the hundreds of wrecks and artificial reefs inside Tampa Bay. Join us for a Tampa Fishing Charter, you never know what you will catch!!!!

The hottest fish going on May would have to be Tarpon. It’s not uncommon to see thousands of fish migrating along the coast up the Gulf of Mexico this time of year. These fish are just a few hundred yards from the beach and can be easily spotted at first light on any given day. Tarpon are one of the most sought after fish on the west coast as people come from all over the world this year to experience Tampa Bay Tarpon fishing.

Another summer species that mixes in other would have to be Mangrove Snapper. This is a great species to target during the summer as the thousands of fish school up on just about any structure throughout the bay. Back in the old days we used to have to deal throwing anchors and calculating with with tide to land on the structure. With the evolution of GPS guided trolling motors this has become a lot more efficient. A day doesn’t go by that my Rhodan GPS guided trolling motor is not in the water and holding me on my favorite Snapper spot this time of year. When targeting fish on these wrecks it’s always good to have an array of tackle. From leader size to hooks. For Mangrove Snapper I like to use # 20 lb Tsunami Fluorocarbon matched with a #1 Daiichi wide gap circle hook. Snapper are a great table fair and will make for a great dinner.

Best of the rest would include Grouper, Cobia, Sharks,Flounder and many more. This is why it’s so important to have the right gear and a variety of line matched with rods and reels. One of my favorite combos is the all new Tsunami Carbon ll 7.6 foot 40 lb class rod matched with the evict 4000 series reel. Match this with 50lb Braid for the strength to get fish out of the structure and you have a great all around combo to get the big fish to the boat. Most wrecks and reefs are great places to catch all of the above and with today’s technology you can easily find these spots online. The next secret is to have plenty of bait both dead and alive. My preferred bait would be Threadfin herring for dead and live would be greenbacks.

The last piece to the puzzle would have to be a good sonar. With today’s technology you can find it easier to see what is actually down there. I really love Simrad structurescan and side imaging. They enable me to see a broad view and at times see the actual fish with the 3D imaging. It’s` truly a game changer!!!