The Gulf coast fishes year round, but what is biting changes month to month. Here is the calendar Matt fishes by and the species you can target inshore and offshore.
Pick a month to see what is biting and where. Tarpon season runs March through October, and the May-through-July peak is the heart of the year.
The coldest water of the year. Redfish, trout, sheepshead, black drum and flounder hold in deeper water, and snook bite the shallow flats on the warm-ups.
What’s biting
Sheepshead spawn and the action is at its best. On warm afternoons snook sun themselves in less than two feet of water. Offshore bottom fishing stays strong.
What’s biting
One of Matt’s favorite snook months — he has had days of over 100. Tarpon season opens with resident fish around the bridges, and the kings start to move in.
What’s biting
Things are hot everywhere. Big kingfish schools, grouper, snapper and permit offshore; snook, redfish and resident tarpon on the flats.
What’s biting
May 1st marks the migration. Matt spends better than 90 percent of his days sight fishing tarpon — an average day is five to ten hooked.
What’s biting
Peak tarpon. Fish on the beaches, in the passes, in the bay, and huge schools offshore. Bull redfish and fast summer trout fill the breaks.
What’s biting
The last and biggest month of the migration — schools can be massive before it winds down mid-to-late month. Trout are caught by the hundreds.
What’s biting
One of the very best months for bull redfish in shallow water, most over 30 inches. Snook and trout stay thick; offshore runs 20-plus miles for grouper and snapper.
What’s biting
Much like August, with snook back in season. Big tarpon schools show on the beaches toward month’s end and amberjack start to heat up offshore.
What’s biting
A favorite month — April in reverse. The kingfish migration begins, the flats fish feed hard, and the fall tarpon push runs the beaches for a few weeks.
What’s biting
Flats fish move toward the backwater for winter — big trout, snook, redfish, flounder and pompano. Grouper and kings stay within ten miles of the dock.
What’s biting
Exceptional redfish along with black drum, sheepshead and flounder. Grouper limits are ten minutes from the dock, and the beaches turn on for fly anglers.
What’s biting
The flats, mangroves and backwaters from two feet of water out to the grass edges.
Explosive, high-leaping speed demons and the bay area’s most popular sport fish. Found on the shallow flats most of the year, then around basins, rivers and springs in the cold.
A bull-dog fight and a flats favorite, available almost year round. Often sight fished in two to five feet of water, or chummed up out of big roaming schools.
The most prolific sport fish in Tampa Bay, great to eat and easy for kids to catch. On the shallow flats most of the year, deeper in the cold months.
The ultimate sport fish — tremendous stamina, leaps 15 feet into the air, and grows past 200 pounds. Tampa Bay takes the largest tarpon migration in the state.
Also on the flats
A short run to the open Gulf for reef fish, pelagics and the occasional sea monster.
One of the fastest fish in the ocean, said to swim near 40 mph. Best in fall and spring when the migration passes through and Matt chums them into a frenzy.
Gag and red grouper hold on hard bottom, ledges, wrecks and reefs, year round. Heavy spinning tackle and live bait, stepped up to 100-pound gear in the big wrecks.
Tampa Bay is one of the world’s best permit fisheries and one of its best-kept secrets. Sight fished over offshore reefs on calm days — one trip landed 32, half on fly.
Protected, plentiful and enormous. Caught on 200-pound tackle and released — sometimes Matt uses the boat to pull them off the reef like towing a water skier.
Offshore year round and thick in the bay in July and August. Leader-shy and hook-shy, so it is light line, small hooks, and sometimes chumming them up behind the boat.
Some of the most shark-rich water anywhere — hammerhead, bull, tiger, blacktip and more. Matt has hooked hammerheads 12 to 14 feet and seen them over 1,000 pounds.
Also in the mix
Tell Matt what you want to catch and when you want to come, and he will sort out the right trip.