Fishing Tampa's Flats and Bay

July has been a month so far that has been very productive in many ways. The beginning of the month being July 4th weekend was basically a rain out as far as fishing went. With that being the case I decided it would be nice to change the pace and visit the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary on Indian Rocks Beach. If you ever get this way I would suggest a visit to the sanctuary as its free admission and with a guided tour you can learn a lot about   our seabirds and the work they do at the sanctuary.

Some of the many Pelicans being cared for

On the week end of the 10th I was to fish in the 4th of a series of Xtreme Redfish tournaments I have been fishing with my partner Justin Ascherman. The rain had stopped and it was time to get our game on. Pre-fishing proved productive as we found a nice school of slot sized fish in the 3 pound range with bigger fish mixed in at upper and over slot in the 7 pound range. We  set our plan in motion Saturday morning for the tournament.  Our goal was to get to fish in the live well and then work on upgrading to heavier fish. This tournament is a combined weight of two fish weighed in. The fish have to be with in the legal size limit of 18 to 27 inches. Our plan worked our very well as we took second place with total weigh of over 12 lbs and also won in the big fish category with a 7.63 lb Redfish.

Tampa Bay Charter 7.63 lb Redfish

After the second place finish I was ready for a vacation. OK not really but my wife have planned a vacation every July for the last 3 years to go scalloping. We spent a week in Crystal River with a group of good friends and scalloped every day. Its a great event for everyone collecting the clam like shell by snorkeling in 3 to 6 feet of Crystal Clear water. As a bonus the tender morsel of meat inside the shells makes for a variety of recipes.  If you think this is something you would like to try there are a lot of guides in the area who specialize in scalloping trips. Just do a Google search.

Tampa Bay Charter Scalloping

Tampa Bay Charters Scallops

After a week long fun filled vacation it was time to get back to fishing. I had the opportunity to fish for the FWC  tag and release program. The mission was to catch,tag and release as many Mangrove Snapper and Grouper as we could. Along with fellow anglers Jim and Mark and Brent from the FWC  along we set out to get it done. In all we caught over 20 Mangrove Snapper in the 17″ size range and several under sized grouper. We ran out of bait at about 2 am and called it a day. It was an interesting experience that I hope to participate in again.

Well with lees than a week left in the month I have to get back out on the water to make sure I can keep up with the fish to provide the most successful days for a Tampa Bay Charter.

If you are looking for a Tampa Bay Fishing Guide please feel free to contact me

As always thank you for stopping by to check out my reports.

Capt. Steve Betz

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