As the water continues to heat up, so does the fishing. I spent a few hours both Saturday and Sunday hanging out at the Merry Pier in St. Pete Beach. Live shrimp was the bait of choice. The technique- tail hook a medium shrimp on a #2 Owner hook with a foot of 30″ flourocarbon leader and a 1/4 ounce weight, and drop down next to the pilings of the Pier. And I mean RIGHT next to the pilings- a foot or two away, and you’d get no action.

The bite consisted almost entirely of gag grouper and mangrove snapper (no snook around, although I did pull in a 20″ filefish). The snapper bite was the typical tap-tap-tap, while the grouper would announce their presence with a heavy ‘thud’. My friend Tim ventured down from Tampa on Sunday, and we probably caught 50+ fish between the two of us. The grouper ran to around 19″ (no keepers- yet), and the snapper were in the 8-12″ range. Plenty of keepers mixed in with the smaller fish. Pictured above was a fat 16″ mangrove snapper that I caught on Saturday.

Tarpon were rolling, although individually and not in schools. Lots of Mac’s were popping the clouds of glass minnows that hung by the dock, but they seemed oblivious to a freelined shrimp. Odd. A manatee family grazed by the pilings north of the pier. I had a report of a ‘true black’ grouper caught on the dock last week- very unusual for inshore, and much rarer than the occassional red grouper that I pull in. There were a few Jack Cravelle caught, but no big schools showing yet. Won’t be long, though…

It’s a great time of the year to be a Florida fisherman! The weather is fantastic, the water is clear, and the fish are biting. Fishing this weekend in St. Petes Beach, I caught, hooked, or saw just about everything that swims. How’s this list:

-Grouper
-Mangrove Snapper
-Lane Snapper
-Snook
-Sheepshead
-Spanish Mackerel
-Sailor’s Delight
-Atlantic Spadefish
-Ladyfish
-Jack Crevalle
-And the usual trash fish

I caught my first tagged fish ever- a 12″ gag grouper. Tarpon were rolling within 30 feet of Merry Pier. I had a few ‘freight train’ hits that must remain unidentified. Yes, it’s a great time of the year…

On a different note… my company is participating in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life on May 16. This 18 hour event raises funds for cancer education, treatment and prevention programs, and is a VERY worthy cause. This marks the third year that we have participated. If you’re reading this, I would invite you to come to the event (Stetson University, Gulfport Florida) or make an online donation. Any help is greatly appreciated. Here’s a link: http://main.acsevents.org/site/[...]team&fr_id=4974

So, I had a big hunk of grouper to cook this weekend. Cap’t. Dick provided an outstanding recipe. In a large aluminum pan, add 2 cups of chicken broth. Place grouper fillets in broth, and season with Everglades seasoning. Cover the fillets with sliced onions, green peppers, tomatoes and mushrooms. Cover with aluminum foil, and place on the grill at medium heat for about 45 minutes. Enjoy!

So, it was a glorious weekend for fishing- lots of sunshine, clear water, ample bait, decent tides. I hit Merry Pier Saturday mornign, stocked up on select shrimp, and freelined a big one under the pier on a 7′ Star rod and Shimano 6500 Baitrunner spooled with 20′ mono. BAM! 1 shrimp, 1 snook. It came in just under legal size at 27″, so back it went. Only snook of the day, as it turns out. There were lots hanging around, easy to spot in the gin clear water. There was a scool of about 30 cruising around, including some real bruisers, but they weren’t chewing. Think I’ll try again this week after sundown.

But, while the snook were reluctant to bite, the grouper were not. I must have caught two dozen, up to about 19″. They were in the pilings, under the dock, and in the rockpiles in front of the pier. Even caught a couple of red grouper! Spanish Mackeral were patrolling in packs, occassionally slashing through the schools of glass minnows. I caught a few nice jacks, always fun for a fight.

Another encouraging sign was my first mangrove snapper of the year- a fiesty foot long specimen. I saw a few more hovering around- soon, they’ll be so thick that they’re a nuisance. Also, I saw a guy pull up a 17″ pompano that hit a live shrimp on the outgoing tide. He was only fishing about 30 feet in front of the pier. Yes, it’s that time of year- everything starting to fire up!

Later that afternoon, we headed to the Seminole boat ramp in Clearwater, and met up with Captain Mike Homer, a Clearwater Inshore Fishing Guide. We headed out to a local creek that emptied into the bay, tied on some YoZuri crystal minnows, and began slow trolling the deeper channel, as well as the dock pilings. Conditions seemed perfect, and we did get a couple of strong hits, but no hookups. I’m convinced that the snook were there; they just weren’t biting. Well, that’s fishing.

We eventually switched gears, and began casting gold spoons. David soon hooked up to a nice redfish that was hanging out over the oyster bars. We hit a small spoils island, and I jumped a fiesty little snook. David was next up with another snook. We continued to see signs of activity around the island, and had a few more strikes, but no more fish. After a couple hours, we were headed back to the marina. Lots of fun, and definately something I’d like to try again.

On Sunday, the sun was shining, and Merry Pier was calling. The grouper were stacked up, and hungry. I caught a couple dozen, up to 18″, on live shrimp and small pinfish. Most were hanging around the pilings, rather than on the rockpiles. I hooked and lost a big snook, and landed a 17″ sheepshead, which was released unharmed.

Tarpon have made their official appearance. I saw them rolling in Boca Ciega Bay, and got several more reports ranging from Ft. Desoto to John’s Pass. Looks like they’re early this year!

There are schools of smaller snook hanging out around docks and structure in Blind Pass. They’re reluctant to bite during the day,but it may be a different story after sundown. At the Jetty in PassAGrille, there have been some great Pompano catches over the last week or so, with plenty of ladyfish and a few mackeral mixed in for good measure.

Seawalls have been yielding a mixed bag of flounder, sheepshead, trout and macs, although none in great quantity. The redfish SHOULD be around, but I’m not hearing of any consistant catches. Ft. Desoto would be the prime area to target, with all of the grass flats down there.

Offshore is a big question mark. Winds have kept the boats in, but there should be plenty of kingfish, grouper, snapper, bonita, sharks, barracuda and all the rest out there. I hope to get a trip together later this week. Stay tuned…

I managed a mixed bag of grouper, Spanish macks and ladyfish. There’s still not enogh bait around foy the macs to show up in force yet. One interesting note- I saw a nice 3 pould pompano caught by ‘Lita, a Merry Pier regular. Good fish! From the rumor department, a guy came into the bait shop talking about a tourist who hooked a doormat flounder (in the 10 pound range). He got it up to the seawall, had no clue what it was, and cut the line when he saw the teeth. Yipes!

 Other reports are coming in- I saw sheepie’s landed at Blind Pass (by Woody’s), and I heard about a big run of early Pompano at the Jetty in Pass-A-Grille. I may have to check that out…

Meanwhile, the plan is to head out to the deep water on Friday afternoon and bag some grouper now that they’re back in season. Then, the fishing will change to snapper under the full moon. Should be fun!

Crispy Fried Sheepshead

Fillet sheepshead, making sure all bones are removed. Heat peanut oil. Dust the fillets with flour; then dip in a milk/ egg wash, coating completely. Next, roll in a seasoned flour and breadcrumb mix (I always throw in a couple pinches of Paul Prudohme’s Seafood Seasoning, fresh ground sea salt, and a seven pepper blend). Deep fry till golden brown, drain on paper towels, and serve with lemon, Tobasco, and ice cold beer. Enjoy!

Yeah, they were chewing the bottom out of the boat. Even a nice flounder! Imagine if grouper were in season- they threw back a bunch of keeper size gags and reds. The word was, ever since the eclipse, offshore fishing’s been red hot.

Here’s a couple of Merry Pier regulars with a typical string of grunts:

Will they still be there on the 1st? If so, will they bite? And where exactly are they hanging out? I’ll let you know in 9 days. Stay tuned!

Pictured above are the results of the Saturday full day trip on Miss Pass-A-Grill. Conspicuously absent are grouper, which are now out of season in Federal waters (i.e. 9 miles r more offshore). LOTS of grunts (aka grey snapper, aka key west grunts), and a few triggerfish. I understand that some decent grouper were released.

For those of us on the Pier, the weekend provided great variety, including Spanish Mackeral, gag grouper, redfish, flounder, sheepshead, filefish, puffers, squirrelfish, and more. I came armed with a bucket full of fiddler crabs, anticipating a big sheepshead haul, but I only landed a couple. Strange that they aren’t around- maybe in a few more weeks. There’s still plenty of greenbacks to be netted, though.