Gasparilla Pirate Invasion

I know its not fishing but, every year we don our garb and invade Tampa. If you have never seen this from the water it is a must see. Make sure you have all your safety equipment and the captain doesn't drink. You will be boarded and inspected. The number of boats is crazy. The skill it takes to maneuver in the mix is a true test. But the view of the invasion is great and the partying on the water is fantastic. Despite all the rowdiness and close boating there has never been a serious accident during the invasion. (CROSS OUR FINGERS). I will have pictures and post a few shortly.

Redfish and Snook Weedon Island

Received an update on the state of Weedon Island fishing this past weekend. Redfish and Snook were all over the flats there and were taking just about any gulp bait thrown at them. A 35inch Redfish and a 29inch Snook were the highlights and Both are still out there swimming around. The keeper redfish were plenty. All in all about 30+ fish caught between two guys wading the flats.

CHECK OUT THE WEEKLY PICS

Here is another one of the Fish from Last Saturday's Offshore Trip.

OffShore Grouper

We hit the water at 6:30am, Bay Pines Boat ramp and Capt. Doug. in the "IRISH WAKE" was taking me and another buddy offshore for a little day of Grouper. he had been telling us that he had some nice holes and would put us on em. After we launched we headed out John's Pass and about an Hour and a Half later we were on fish. The First Fish caught was a my fish a keeper gag. Then it was everyone elses turn and we caught one after another right away. The next time around for me landed a 30" 12.5lb Black that gave a good fight. We caught a ton of short blacks and reds then we started hitting a few Mango's. We let out a little anchor line and I hit a fish on my Mango 40lb rod that put me in a stand still. I fought him for a while and thank god my drag was set right. Once I got him up it was a 9lb Red Grouper. We ended up with 4 Keeper gags and the big red, a few mangos and a scamp. A real nice little catch for a quick day trip.

Check out the rest of the photos in the WEEKLY pic page. over the next few days.

COLD Weather Killing off SNOOK

Last weeks cold weather Snap had a large affect on our fishing community including some of our favorite targets, SNOOK. If you find that there is a significant number of Snook dead near or at your favorite fishing hole please contact the FWC 1-800-636-0511, or Submit a Fish Kill Report. and inform them of the numbers. This will give them a good idea which locations were affected the hardest. Poaching also becomes easier when finding fish stunned by the cold spell.