Tampa Bay Fishing Report – End of Feb.

Posted on February 24, 2015February 24, 2015 by admin

Tampa Bay Inshore Fishing Report

Fishing over the past week in Tampa Bay has been tough with the coldest cold fronts of the year. Fishing has been tough due to the fact that it is 70 degrees one day and 50 degrees the next, coupled with strong winds it hasn’t been easy. Trout, Redfish, Sheepshead, and Black drum have still been the main targets as they are the most susceptible to the cold conditions.

Trout fishing has still been fairly consistent as long as the tide is moving and the seas are calm. Live shrimp fished on the bottom has been working slightly better than fishing with a float, as the fish have been holding closer to the bottom with the conditions. Jigs fished slowww have still been producing good result. The key when fishing with jigs over the past week has been not only work it slow, but being able to feel the strike as they haven’t as aggressive. Reeling when the fish bites has worked better than setting the hook as they have been short striking.

Jake with a nice trout while on a fishing charter in Clearwater, Fl.

Redfish have picked up with the passing of the new moon and more fish are showing up. A lot of the fish have been quality mid slot to upper slot fish, but they haven’t been willing to eat, but there are always a few that will! The small “Rat” size redfish have still been abundant and are more than willing to eat. Docks, Oyster bars, and mullet schools have all been holding fish, and once you find a few you are able to build a pattern fairly quickly.

Tony and Pam were visiting Clearwater Beach and decided to do some fishing! They caught some nice Trout, along with some Redfish.

Sheepshead and black drum have still been around and have also been willing to bite even though the temperatures are down. Most of the sheepshead have left the inshore docks and pushed out to the near shore reefs and rock piles in 12-20′. Live shrimp or fiddler crabs fished on a light jig head or a knocker rig have been producing good results. Black drum have still been around the inshore docks and oysters, and have have been common catches when targeting redfish. Most of these drum have been smaller fish in the mid 20” range. The large black drum over 30lbs should be showing up here in the coming weeks.

Hopefully this will be the last of the major cold front for the year, as Spring is just around the corner and Kingfish and Mackerel season should be here in no time! So while the weather isn’t the best take time to get your gear ready and your trips booked.

Tight lines,

Capt. Jared Simonetti

727-831-0111

www.CaptJared.com

Tampa Bay Fishing Report – End of January 2015

Posted on January 29, 2015January 29, 2015 by admin

End of January Tampa Bay Fishing Report – 2015

The last week of January started out with cold fronts moving in and temperatures dropping rapidly. This has made fishing a little bit more difficult, as it is harder to build a pattern. A lot of the fish I have been on have been moving on a daily bases, and the bait has been harder to obtain. Before for the fronts came in the Snook fishing remained good, with trout fishing being steady, and red fishing getting better each day.

Trout fishing has remained steady for the past couple weeks, and limits of trout are being caught on every fishing charter in both the Tampa bay and Clearwater area. Live shrimp has been producing good results either free-lined or fished under a cork. Soft plastic jigs have also been producing just as well as live bait. Darker colored soft plastic jerk baits fished on a lighter jig heads such as a 1/16 or 1/8oz. jig head have been the out producing many other artificial’s. Most trout have been between 16-18” with a fair number of fish that have been in the mid 20” range.

Clint, Chase, and Trey with a limit of trout they caught on a half day fishing charter in Tampa bay, FL.

Red fishing in the Tampabay area has been getting better and better each day. Most of the fish have still been lower slot size in the area’s I have been fishing, but the larger fish are starting to push back in from the reports I am getting from other captains fishing in the south end of the bay. There has been plenty of large fish up shallow on the sand flats in the upper area of bay, and fly anglers and guys willing to sight fish have been getting plenty of shots at these fish. Live shrimp fished on a 1/0 circle hook with a split shot has been the bait of choice as of lately.

Robert and Carroll with a Redfish and Black Drum caught while on a fishing charter in Clearwater, Fl.

Sheepshead and black drum has also been making a appearance quite a bit lately, especially fishing around docks. Live shrimp fished on a 1/0 circle hook with a split shot have been the go to rig. A lot of the sheepshead are keeper fish, and the black drum have been mid 20” range which make for good eating size.

Tight Lines,

Capt. Jared Simonetti
727-831-0111
simonetti_jared@yahoo.com
www.CaptJared.com

Tampa Fishing Report – Mid January 2015

Posted on January 20, 2015January 20, 2015 by admin

Tampa Fishing Report – Mid January 2015

January started off with good snook fishing, but the snook bite has slow way down, and is almost non-existent, but for the lack of snook the trout and redfish had made a big showing! Limits of trout and redfish are occurring during almost every fishing charter in Tampa bay or in the Clearwater area. Some days have been tougher than others, but that’s fishing. Shrimp and jig have been the main baits of choice over the past ten days while… fishing in Tampabay, and I expect this to remain the same till we start having some warmer weather.

Trout fishing has been excellent, and maybe even the best I have seen in the past 5 years. The trout we have been catch have been big, fat, healthy fish, with most of them being upper slot around 18” although we have had many trout in the mid 20” range. I personally don’t like to keep trout bigger than 20” as they are the larger females which are important for the future. I also try and avoid touching any trout that I don’t plan on keeping. The trout bite has been steady with both darker colored soft plastic jigs and live shrimp fished on the incoming tides later in the afternoon. Look for the trout to be over spotted grass flats in5-7’ of water. Deep canals and creeks are also holding a lot of smaller trout as well.

Dan with a double header he caught while on a recent fishing charter!

Rob with a nice Trout he caught on fly while on a Tampa Fishing charter.

The Redfish bite over the past week approaching the new moon has been excellent with a lot of redfish being caught during most charters when we aren’t even targeting them. Live shrimp with a small split shot or a light jig head has been the rig and bait of choice for the reds as of lately, but we have caught a few throwing scented soft plastic’s around oyster bars, docks and mullet schools. Most the fish being caught lately have been under slot to mid slot size fish, but there is plenty of them around as of lately. I have also been getting good reports for my fly fishing guide buddies saying they are getting plenty of shots at upper and over slot size fish if you are looking to catch one on fly rod.

Connor and Rick with a nice Clearwater red fish caught on a inshore fishing charter.

Red Fishing Charters are starting to heat up!

If you are looking book a Fishing Charter in Tampa, Clearwater, St. Pete, Tarpon Springs, or Dunedin call 727-831-0111 or email Simonetti_jared@yahoo.com. I also have a lot of requlars clients down this time of year that are always looking to split the cost of a charter, so If you are interested in splitting a charter please email me, and I will see if I have another angler looking to do the same.

Tight lines,
Capt.Jared Simonetti
727-831-0111

Simonetti_jared@yahoo.com
www.CaptJared.com

Tampa Clearwater Fishing Report- Early January

Posted on January 7, 2015January 7, 2015 by admin

January Fishing Report – Tampa Bay

The first week of 2015 has begun, and the inshore fishing has been outstanding! Snook fishing this winter has been phenomenal and the trout fishing is no exception! Over the past week I have been running charters every day, and most trips have been producing outstanding catches with most days producing 60-80 fish days on four hour trips with some trips pushing a 100 fish!

Snook fishing this winter, and this week in Tampa bay has been outstanding with most charters catching dozens of snook with a few real nice fish mixed in. Most of the snook have been on the smaller side ranging between 16-28”, but we have been getting a few on the larger size in the mid 30” range. White bait and shrimp free-lined on both tidal phases has been producing good results.

Trout fishing has been really good this week with limits coming quickly. Most of the trout we have been catching have been mid slot size fish, with some really nice trout pushing the 20” mark being caught. Soft plastic jigs and mirro-lure mirrodine’s have also been working well. The morning trout bite has been slightly better than the afternoon bite on most days this past week.

Tips- Morning trout bite and afternoon snook bite.

Bait- Shrimp, White bait, soft plastic jigs, Mirrodine’s

Tight lines,

Capt. Jared Simonetti

727-831-0111

Simonetti_jared@yahoo.com

www.CaptJared.com

December Fishing Report Tampa Bay

Posted on December 18, 2014December 18, 2014 by admin

December Fishing Report Tampa Bay

December has started out with excellent weather unlike the previous month of November, which was almost a complete blow out with front after front and 20mph winds. The inshore fishing this past week was phenomenal with slams coming to the boat almost every trip. Although the Trout and Redfish action has been awesome!

Trout fishing has finally started to pick up in the last week with the slot fish starting to school up, and the larger breeder trout starting moving into the shallows. Look for slot size fish to be in the deeper channels and creeks throughout the bay area. Live shrimp, sardines, and jigs have been producing limits on daily basis. The larger breeder size trout have also started to show up in their shallow winter time haunts. These big trout can be extremely spooking and require a long cast in order not to spook them. Darker colored soft plastic jerk baits rigged weed less or on a light jig have been producing the best results, although large live shrimp free-lined are hard for these fish to pass up.

The redfish fish bite has been outstanding this past week as well with good numbers of fish being caught on every trip as well, most of the fish have been under slot to mid slot size. Look for the redfish to be hanging out around docks and oyster bars this time of year. Live shrimp and soft plastic jigs have been working equally as well.

Snook have still been around and I have been finding them on the open flats, around docks, and in the back country. The fish have been a little sluggish, and fishing late in the afternoon has produced good results once the water has warmed up. Live sardines and shrimp have both been working well, but artificial lures have been out producing bait. Soft plastic jerk baits fished on 1/4oz. jig heads fished slow and on the bottom have been my go-to baits.

Pompano, Cobia, Jacks, and Sharks have also been around the warm water discharge of the power plants. This fishing around these areas has been sporadic at best, but worth taking a look if you are in the area. Look for these areas to heat up in the coming weeks with the arrival of the winter time cold fronts.

Tight Lines,

Capt. Jared Simonetti

(727)831-0111

http://www.captjared.com/

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