man do i miss tampa

[Gunpowder]

well i woke up to 5 inches of snow on the ground this morning at 545 and realized it was time to go out and row on the st. lawrence seaway. came back to the dorm and immediatly looked at some pics of spring trainin in tampa to worm me up. anyone else want this weather to come up north?

[riverrat55]

Tampa is my favorite place to fish in Florida!!!
Looks like the warm weather could be here by next Monday!!!
They are predicting 70 Degrees!!! That would be nice!!!

[Fish On]

My mother lives near there. Please tell me about the fishing and what you like about it.

[Finaddict]

Fish On, where does she live? Is she on a canal system, down towards the Gulf, in a village that borders the bay?

There are many different options availalbe to you and tactics that can be taken in that area, but depending upon where you are and whether or not you can get access to a boat or you need to access fishing on foot ...

If she lives in a canal system ... meaning her neighborhood is on a series of canals, there very well could be tarpon that frequent her area, as well as snook around dock pilings, under dock lights at night and along seawalls. Also possibilities for jacks (jack crevalle) and even sheephead.

If you are out in a bay that has access to flats, you can wade for redfish and seatrout ... if she lives near an inlet to the Gulf, then your options continue to expand including snook, redfish, sheepshead, jacks, bluefish and much more ... sometimes tarpon in the entrance of the inlet as well at night and during low light and periods where boat traffic is down ... the Gulf coast at a certain point has access for fluke as well ...

... on the outer beaches that border the Gulf, you have more opportunities as well including snook, redfish, jacks and more.

So depending upon where you are will make a big difference.

[Gunpowder]

ive done a little fishin down there but was actually down there for spring break rowing all day. we row right next to hospital island on the hillsborough river that leads into the bay. we saw dolphins (not mahi mahi) right next to our boats several times. i sure would love to fish down there one day.

[Raven]

you list two locations.... how's that work? -just curious

[gone fishin]

The photos you posted look like Boston - Charles River to be exact. ??

[Gunpowder]

to answer raven, i just typed in two locations in my profile and it was ok with it. and for gonefishin, it looks like the charles, but it is really in tampa, FL. ive done a lot of racing on the charles though. and i like the charles better. when its warm and sunny!

[ProfessorM]

What is that big yellow thing in the sky down there. Wish we had one of those here.

[Fish On]

She lives in Parrish which is east of Bradenton and very close to the Manatee River at I 75. There are places to rent pontoon boats close to her house and we have done that but really didn't fish much (though I snuck a rod along).

I also did a 1/2 day party boat a while back. I believe it left dock near downtown Bradenton. There were a lot of charter boats at the dock for potential trips.

Wow, that soudns like a lot of different fish to go after!