fishing Archives - Page 3 of 5

Blue Runner

Posted on July 19, 2020 at 3:40 pm by Charles Walker / Bait in the Tampa Bay Area

Blue runner, hard tail jack, yellow jack, yellow mackerel and runner are all Caranx crysos. Whatever name you attach, they’re great bait for larger fish. They are very hardy in the baitwell and can swim surprisingly fast for long distances on the hook. They commonly grow to 12-14 inches but are said to reach 20 inches…..

Tarpon

Posted on July 19, 2020 at 1:39 pm by Charles Walker / Fishing, Game fish in the Gulf of Mexico

No one that’s ever hooked one of these hundred-plus pound ballistic missiles wants to hear anything negative about them, though. From that first searing run to the series of acrobatic twists and turns that characterize their fighting style, the tarpon is a prototypical gamefish. In suncoast waters, they commonly reach 150 lb., but the world record is nearly 300.

Jewfish (Goliath Grouper)

Posted on July 19, 2020 at 1:27 pm by Charles Walker / Fishing, Game fish in the Gulf of Mexico

There is no such thing as sea monsters, but there are indeed critters of monstrous proportions that live in the sea. We feature one such denizen of the deep here – easily the largest fish (other than sharks) regularly found in Florida Suncoast waters. Although jewfish have been closed to harvest for several years now, fishermen and divers still encounter them on a fairly regular basis…..

White Grunt

Posted on July 19, 2020 at 1:14 pm by Charles Walker / Fishing, Game fish in the Gulf of Mexico

The white grunt (Haemulon plumieri); also known as “grunt”, “pigfish” and, if you’re a grouper fisherman – “oh jeez, not another *%*&$# grunt”. One of the suncoast’s oldest party boat owners, Captain Hubbard, way back in the 50’s I think, coined the name gray snapper for the white grunt, “cause snapper sounds fancier than grunt”. So anytime you’re on a party boat in the mid Florida west coast area, you’re catching ‘gray snapper”. This smallish denizen of the Gulf rockpiles doesn’t get much respect from fishermen intent on wrestling grouper and snapper from their favorite holes…

Gray Triggerfish

Posted on July 19, 2020 at 1:00 pm by Charles Walker / Fishing, Game fish in the Gulf of Mexico

Trigger fish are abundant in the Gulf of Mexico and thank goodness, not everyone is aware of how good they taste or what fun they are to catch. There are two trigger fish that are common in Florida’s waters, the queen trigger and the gray trigger. Ours in the middle and upper Gulf is the gray trigger. They can be found year round in our area and they live on just about any rocky or coral encrusted bottom….

Greater Amberjack

Posted on July 19, 2020 at 12:47 pm by Charles Walker / Fishing, Game fish in the Gulf of Mexico

When asked to describe the fighting characteristics of the amberjack, a crusty old veteran offshore fisherman was heard to remark “Find out for yourself – hook your line to a locomotive and let ‘er take off. Just make sure it’s a really big, really fast locomotive.”…….

Spotted Seatrout

Posted on July 18, 2020 at 3:27 pm by Charles Walker / Fishing, Game fish in the Gulf of Mexico

Ask any long-term Suncoast fisherman what the most reliable gamefish catch is in this area and 9 times out of 10, the answer will be trout. Spotted Seatrout are the most abundant of the inshore big three: Snook, Redfish and Trout, and are consistently taken by pros and beginners alike….

The Sheepshead

Posted on July 18, 2020 at 3:18 pm by Charles Walker / Fishing, Game fish in the Gulf of Mexico

Those jailhouse stripes adorning our featured subject mark his character well. Meet the sheepshead – truly a bait thief of the first order. Old-timers will tell you that in order to hook a sheepie, you need to set the hook “just before he breathes on your bait.” Maybe that’s taking things to extremes, but frustration can definitely abound when you encounter a bunch of these delicious critters…..

Dolphin

Posted on July 15, 2020 at 2:54 pm by Charles Walker / Fishing, Game fish in the Gulf of Mexico

Easily the most brilliantly-colored fish to inhabit Florida’s waters, dolphin have become widely known by their Hawaiian name of mahi-mahi; this to avoid confusing them with the marine mammals of “Flipper ” fame.

King Mackerel

Posted on July 15, 2020 at 1:45 pm by Charles Walker / Fishing, Game fish in the Gulf of Mexico

The wheeling birds have been visible for about a mile now, but as you approach the flurry of activity beneath them, you take note of the strange sound made by thousands of baitfish fleeing the unknown predator below.

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Blue Runner

Tarpon

Jewfish (Goliath Grouper)

White Grunt

Gray Triggerfish

Greater Amberjack

Spotted Seatrout

The Sheepshead

Dolphin

King Mackerel

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