What’s the best time of year for…?
I get asked a lot about what the best time of year is to fish for certain species of fish. I usually say, “Anytime you can go”. But the truth of it is, there better times of year for each species. Times of the year when the bite really shines. We’ll go species by species here to give you guys a good idea. I’m also working on a chart for this for the site as well.
Redfish: Oct.-July.
Now we catch redfish all year long but the best fishing is during the fall winter, spring and the first part of summer. During the hottest months of the year, August and September, the bite really needs to happen early before the heat gets to bad.
Speckled Sea Trout: Dec.-March.
If you want to get into your limit of large trout. This is the time to do it. We catch trout year ’round but The winter months really produce the big fish and the most fish.
Snook: March-July and Oct.-November.
The state is always adjusting the “season” (times we can take some home for dinner) so check with your guide if you plan of keeping one. We catch snook pretty much any time other than the really cold parts of the year but the Spring and first part of summer really is snook time. We also get into them pretty good when the water begins to cool down again in the fall.
Tarpon: May and June.
If you want to land a tarpon, this may be your best bet in the state. I run these trips during these months in Boca Grande, Tarpon Capitol of the World. Then in Tampa Bay in July we still have pretty good tarpon fishing here from July to the first part of September.
Spanish Mackerel: April-September.
These toothy marauders are slashing through the whole Tampa Bay area during these months. We do get into the rest of the year but not like we do in the summer time.
Cobia: March and April.
These brown bombers cruise the flats of the Tarpon Springs area during these months. It’s prime site fishing opportunities if you want to catch a 25-40lb fish in less than 3 feet of water.
The Best of the Rest: All Year.
We catch all kinds of things and many of them cooperate all year long. Grouper (shallow water), mangrove snapper, sheephead, bluefish, sharks… there’s no limit to what we might catch on a charter. There’s always something to keep our lines tight and smiles on our faces.