Tampa Bay Fishing Charters

Archive for the ‘Fishing Reports’ Category

Tampa Bay fishing Charters have been nothing other than abnormal this May. Usually as a Tampa Bay Fishing Guide I am chasing the Silver King AKA Tarpon in the month of May. I am not going to lie, I have done my share of Tarpon chasing this month. Chasing is what I have done! On several charters we were on good numbers of Tarpon. When I say good numbers I am talking hundreds of them. The problem is they are just not in the mood to eat! It can be very frustrating to say the least!

We have been catching plenty of fish this month. A lot of my clients just want to go fishing and they are not picky about what they catch as long as it  puts up a nice fight.

I have found that Sharks and Shallow water Grouper have been part of the ticket to make clients happy. Tampa Bay Fishing Charters is a variety of fish catching so its not to often we have clients bored with what we are doing. Shallow water grouper can put even a skilled angler to the test. In fifteen feet of water or less these bottom structure dwellers will take you to the limit! Here are a couple of pictures from some recent Tampa Bay fishing charters.

Sharks have been fun also. Just recently I was asked to take Sam Root (of www.saltyshores.com) a very well known photographer from our area out to do a calendar shoot for a well known magazine. My job was to put him and model/ fisherwomen Karla Rodriguez  on some sharks or other species worthy of photographing for the magazine. It was a lot of fun and Tampa Bay Fishing Charters Capt. Steve Betz got the job done as you will see from the following photos.

The month of May has been a lot of fun! We are catching a variety of fish. Sharks,Grouper, Mackerel, Flounder, Trout, Redfish and many other species.

If variety is your spice of life book your next Tampa Bay Fishing Charter Adventure with Capt. Steve Betz!

April has come and gone. Tampa Bay Fishing Charters had some really good catches. Snook,Trout, Redfish,Spanish Mackerel and many frisky drag pulling Blue fish were caught.

There is always a variety of fish to catch with a Tampa Bay Fishing Guide. Tampa Bay holds fish year around,but this time of year is most fishing guides favorite time to run charters. Tarpon have made they’re migration and can put even the most experienced angler to the test.

Take your pick! Is it Tampa Bays hard pulling line ripping Snook you are after? Or would you rather stalk Tarpon in hopes of getting that once in a life time trophy fish? Maybe you are out for a day of action with the family. Then you will definetly enjoy catching spanish mackerel and trout.

No matter what your choice may be Capt. Steve will be more than happy to accommodate you in your quest of a Tampa Bay fishing adventure.

Here are a few pictures from recent charters.

May is going to be hot hot hot for catching! Book your charter now!

Thank you for stopping by to read the reports.

You can contact Captain Steve with questions or to book your next action filled fishing adventure!

Capt. Steve Betz

813-717-8843

captainsteve@flatsandbay.com

It scares me a little to say it but I think Spring has Sprung! The cold fronts seem to finally be over. Tampa Bay fishing is on an upswing from winter fishing. Redfish, Snook, Trout and Spanish Mackerel are all willing to play. That magic number for water temperature (72) is what turns them on! We have been having some nice catches of Redfish, Snook and Trout on my last few outings. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat have both been aboard my boat when some clients have either won or lost the battle with a nice fish.

Its that time of year to book a trip for some drag screaming action! It is all here or close at hand. Sharks are now invading Tampa Bay. Tarpon are close to invading in large reliable numbers. Kingfish will soon be just off of the Gulf beaches.Are you up to the challenge? What will it be? The thrill of Victory? Or the Agony of defeat? You wont know until you book your next Tampa Bay fishing adventure with Capt. Steve Betz!

Feel free to contact Capt. Steve to either book or ask questions about a charter.

What can I say? March has been nothing like I thought it would be for Tampa Bay Fishing Charters. We have had some beautiful weather with cold front after cold front thrown into the mix. With the cold fronts come a change in the water temperature. For those who do not know our fish are more of the tropical type. Changes in water temperature effect their feeding habits. Unfortunately for me as a Tampa Bay fishing guide there is absolutely nothing I can do about it other than adapt and target fish that are willing to eat.

With all of the above being said targeting fish that will eat is what I have been doing. For the most part that has been spotted sea trout,redfish and sheepshead. Sheepshead and Trout have been the most dependable. Sheepshead is one of the tastiest fish in Tampa Bay so they not only make for a challenging catch but also great table fare.

I am looking forward to April and hopefully some more stabil weather. The Snook,Reds and Trout,along with Spanish Mackerel,Kingfish, Sharks and Tarpon should all be ready to eat and be caught. It been an unusual long winter. I guess that Ground Hog was wrong this year.

April,May and June charters are booking up fast. To get the best dates for your target species dont delay and give me a call and get your Tampa Bay Charter booked today!

February has been a moth of changes for Tampa Bay Fishing Charters. Windy weather and cold water temps called for some adjustments to fishing.

People come to Florida to go fishing and I really hate to disappoint them when a charter may have to be cancelled due to high winds. Sometimes it is just to windy to fish the open flats,bridges and even some mangrove lined shores.

The next best thing can be canals,creeks and rivers. My pick this month has been canals for the most part. The residential docks that line these canals provide structure that fish like to hide in and also a food source for some species. It can be a challenging when you hook some of these fish. The first thing they want to do is get back to the safety of the structure they were hiding in. It makes for some exciting action!

On several charters this month Sheepshead have been a main stay on these docks. The Sheepshead we catch in Florida are not the ones that our northern visitors tell me are a trash fish where they come from. These fish are one of the best for table fare Tampa bay has to offer.

We are also catching a variety of other fish including Black Drum,Flounder,Gag Grouper,Mackerel and Mangrove Snapper while fishing the docks.

I expect the docks will be holding fish well into next month. They are always an option when the wind gets a little to much to bare on the open flats of Tampa Bay.

I hope you enjoyed the Tampa Bay fishing report. If you have any questions about my charters or would like to book your next fun filled fishing adventure,please contact Capt. Steve.

February Tampa Bay Fishing Charters are off to a nice start. Redfish and Trout have been the fish at the end of the line so far this month.

Things seem like they may settle down as far as the weather is concerned and with that I expect more catching.

On a couple of recent charters my clients caught some nice Redfish and Trout. They are not monster fish but nice slot fish for this time of year. Live shrimp for bait on light tackle makes fighting these fish fun!

Here are a few pictures from a couple of this months charters so far.

Thank you for stopping by. If you would like to book a charter or have questions feel free to contact Capt. Steve.

January has been an on again off again month for fishing. Our weather patterns have been colds fronts moving through the area with warming trends. For the most part the weather has been beautiful,but keeping track of the fish and exactly what they are going to do has been a task in itself.

We have had some nice catches of Redfish,Trout,Whiting and the occasional Drum,Cobia and Sheepshead. Its just been a little crazy trying to predict what will bite.

Clients have left the dock happy this month catching a variety and at times putting a few fish in the cooler for dinner.

We are on our last day of January and another front has gone through the area. Outside temps are in the 60s and I expect it to remain this way for a few days. I am feeling very confident about the days after this front as far as fishing goes. With a cooling trend for the next several days I feel the fish will fall into a normal pattern and catching will be great!

Capt. Steve offers Tampa Bay Fishing Charters 7 days a week including holidays.Book your next charter today!

We are just into our first week of the new year and fishing is really good. On our Tampa Bay fishing charters we change it up a bit from time to time in the winter.

For those that just want to stay busy Spotted Sea Trout and Redfish are keeping rods bent. If you are a little more patient and willing to wait out the big ones Cobia have been a good bet on the right tides.

Cobia are strong fighters and can really give an angler a good work out on light tackle. The bonus to catching these drag ripping beast is  they are great table fare. Cobia have a size and bag limit as most species of fish do. Cobia have to be at least 33″ to the Fork of the Tail and there is a limit of 2 per person per day with a maximum of 6 being in possession.

On a recent trip this father and son had the double hook up on Cobia.

Is it steady rod bending you would like? Or a fish of a life time? Contact Capt. Steve Betz and book your winter time charter.

Happy New Year From Captain Steve Betz and Tampa Flats and Bay Fishing Charters!

I hope the New Year is a happy,healthy,prosperous and Fishing filled year for all of you.

This past year has been a really good one for me. I had many fish filled days and was able to put smiles on the faces of both new and repeat clients.

The weather has been nothing less than awesome this winter. We have had a few cold fronts roll through the area,but they have not stopped the fish from biting. Recent charters have had 100 fish plus come to the boat. Redfish and trout have been the main stay with some keepers going home for dinner.

We have been using live shrimp for bait and at times artificial lures have been doing the trick. Both methods have been keeping the rods bent and catch trout up to 24′ and redfish up to 22″.

This time of year is a great time to catch fish in numbers and keep anglers busy reeling them in!

Thank you for stopping by to read my reports. If you have any questions about charter availability ,whats biting or the best time to book your next fishing charter,feel free to contact Capt. Steve

Tampa Fishing Charters have been very good this past month. We have been catching good numbers of Trout and Redfish. Everyone has been in on the action. Women,Children and Men alike.

The action has been steady on light tackle making some of the smaller fish really put up a nice fight. Trout have been caught in the keeper range. We have also been catching some Redfish with in the slot range of 18 to 27 inches.

This time of year the fishing can be fairly easy and kids catch on real quick.

This is a good time of year to take advantage of some rod bending steady action. No matter what your skill level Capt. Steve Betz will put you on the fish and instruct you on how to catch them.

If you would like to book a charter with Capt. Steve feel free to contact him to book your date or ask any questions you may have.