Tampa Bay Guided Trip 4-23-06 - California Fishing

Wahoo! · 04-26-2006, 06:54 PM

Sorry for the late report guys, but I've been swamped with work the last couple weeks since I've been here and haven't had much web surfing time.

I found out that I had 1 day off while I was here so I asked around and ended up getting captain Dan Brooks too take me fishing. Dan has been a full time captain in the Tampa Bay/St Petersburg area for about 18 years and really knows where to find the fish.

Unfortunately for me, the only day I had open was a Sunday which meant way too much boat traffic. During the week I heard that the fish were stacking up around the bait, but with the weekend boat traffic the gamefish were scattered around and not as willing to bust the bait on the surface.

One thing I noticed was the amount of baitfish. There were more baitfish in one area than I've ever seen in my life. Seriously a square quarter mile of solid bait in one area. The birds were having a field day, but the fish were scattered and weren't really coming up and chasing the bait.

Needless to say with all the bait in the water, live bait wasn't the way to go since there was so much of it all over the place. We worked the reaction bite with spoons and did well on the spanish mackeral (not the west coast kind, but the real deal). We also caught some ladyfish which was fun.

All the gear was spinning gear and I was fishing a Quantum Cabo with a quantum spinning rod. It's interesting how the attitude here in Florida is different regarding the Quantum gear. Dan was telling me that the quantum gear is awesome and stands up to the saltwater better than any other brand he's fished. I actually really enjoyed the Quantum Cabo reel. It was smooth and had a great drag that came in useful for the spanish macks!

Anyway, I had a great time fishing in Florida for the first time and Dan did a good job at putting me on the fish. I'm going to give him a call next time I'm back in Tampa. Here's a few pics from my day.

Local Rookie · 04-26-2006, 07:18 PM

That's pretty cool! Very nice looking fish. How much does Captain Dan charge? It looks like you went solo too.

Wahoo! · 04-26-2006, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Local Rookie

That's pretty cool! Very nice looking fish. How much does Captain Dan charge? It looks like you went solo too.

Yeah, the spanish macks are cool looking fish. I went solo. I believe the rate is $325 for 4 - 5 hours and I'm not sure how much he charges for longer. He also provides all drinks for the day which isn't something that the others don't normally do.

MOBassman · 04-26-2006, 08:27 PM

Nice macks, Jon. Do you have any ladyfish pics?

Nick Velvet · 04-26-2006, 11:47 PM

Nice fish. At least you had a chance to get out there and do some fishing.

PlatinumHooks · 04-27-2006, 12:26 AM

That's a nice a baby Spotted Tarpon! I caught a 140 pounder last week. ooops, am I telling fibbs again..LOL!

Nice Spanish Mackerel Jon. Is that the one that bled all over your Redfish T-Shirt?

FishSlayer · 04-27-2006, 01:04 AM

Nice!
I have always wanted to fish Florida...I have seen entire TV shows based just on fishing the various freshwater canals and channels for LMB and even the occasional Peacock Bass.
I have also allways wanted to target Snook in the bays there...