Reel Pursuit

My wife and I are considering moving to the Tampa area next year. I definitely plan on bringing the boat with me also. In general, what are the sea conditions like in the Gulf outside Tampa? What can I usually expect? Are certain times of year rougher than others due to prevailing winds? Also, what is the likelyhood I can get a slip for a 25'er? I'd also be interested to know what type of offshore fishing is available but that may be a topic for another thread.
Thanks a million guys.

2ndCurse

Glad I'm not the only one bailing out. I'm heading down the end of next month. I should have the answers to most of your questions by the time you're ready to go. Check out the florida sportsman website. There is a forum just for that area. From what I hear slips are getting very hard to come by, I'd get your name on a list soon. I'm 2nd in line for a slip at the outlaws condo, so hopefully I'll be all set. Good Luck. Tom

Logan9581

Most people in this area (tampa) trailer their boats if you are able to. The Florida sportsman forum (west central) will give you all you need to know about the fishing in the area. Another good one, and run by a local legend is Capt. Mel's site www.capmel.com Where in the tampa area are you moving to?

Reel Pursuit

Thanks for the info guys. I do periodically check in with Fla Sportsmen site but should do so more often.
We haven't decided on any specific towns yet. Wife has family in Lithia but I prefer to be closer to the water so I'll have a shorter drive to the boat. I'm thinking Apollo Beach area but definitely open to suggestions.
My boat is on a trailer in the winter but on a slip in the summer time. Everyone's different, but to me the trailering thing is a huge PIA. I'd much prefer a slip. Second choice would be dry stack. Ideally, I'd like to find a marina that will give me a fairly short ride out of the Bay and into the Gulf where I suspect I'll spend most of my fishing time.
2nd curse-
I think we'll be staying in Clearwater for a week or so in the Feb/Mar timeframe to do a preliminary scouting mission. Hope to bring the golf clubs and a couple fishing rods as well.

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2003 Pursuit 3070 Offshore CC, twin Yamaha F250s. (SOLD)

CrookedHook

Apollo Beach has gone up in price , Canal front $400,000 plus. There is a nice Marina there with an and out service Cost you about $300.0 a month. Apollo Beach is also in the A flood zone...First evacuated...Still a nice area. If you want to live a couple of min from the water,There are a lot of homes being built in the area with massive growth in Riverview. Cost for housing 200K plus...So many choices right now with the development...Enjoy looking

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Ted

2ndCurse

R.P. , Get in touch when you're coming down, I close on my house in Clearwater next week. I should have at least the inshore fishing scouted out by the time you get there. Tom

Reel Pursuit

Tom-
sounds good. I'll look you up when we make our plans. I believe we're staying at a Sheraton in Clearwater.

Crooked-
I did a quick real estate search in the Riverview area and there looks to be some nice properties there. I noticed some of the listings say " No Cdd". What does that mean?

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2003 Pursuit 3070 Offshore CC, twin Yamaha F250s. (SOLD)

CrookedHook

I have never heard the tterm NoCdd before, but I can find out. You might look at a development called Covington.Pretty nice area close to Marina but not in a flood zone...

noles94

i live in clearwater and have grown up here. logan is right, most people do trailer their boats. so many high/dry and marinas have been bought by developers that your choices are limited. you do have a wide range of areas to choose from; east side of the bay is far different from intracoastal pinellas county, in both price and population.

you can boat 12 months/year... i do.

post back after you've looked around a little while. if you're staying at the sheraton, it's probably the one on sand key. good view of the gulf!

let me know if you have any questions of the clw/sand key area.

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What I miss the most about not having a boat...

Reel Pursuit

Covington looks pretty nice. Short ride to the waterfront. Their website lists 3 marinas that I'll have to look into. Tampa Marina and Yacht, Bahia Beach and Apollo Beach Marina. Any insight on these?

Noles-
you mentioned that the east side of Bay is much different from IC Pinellas Cty. I'm not too familiar with the area so could you give me a for instance? Thanks.

My wife's cousin mentioned the power plant in Apollo Beach and how it generates lots of soot on the local real estate? Is it really that bad?

Thanks for the input guys and keep the info rolling!!!

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2003 Pursuit 3070 Offshore CC, twin Yamaha F250s. (SOLD)

noles94

what i meant by that is the east side of the bay is a lot more rural than pinellas county. it's not one big concentration of people. pinellas county is wall-to-wall people where every city blends in with the next. the housing prices are much higher here as well. in pinellas you're closer to everything, but you pay a price for that with more expensive houses, more traffic, etc.

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What I miss the most about not having a boat...

CrookedHook

Forget Apollo Beach Marina....Very Small, No Service and FOR SALE....Bahia Beach is very nice place...Its going condo 900 sq ft starts at 600k. There is a nice Marina just up the rd from apollo beach Marina..Full Service, I cannot recall the name but I'l get it...Old minds keep fading away...

Reel Pursuit

thanks CH.
The Bahia Marina looks pretty nice. Lots of amenities, pool, beach, etc. Just curious, how far of a steam is it from Bahia to get to the Gulf outside the Bay? Part of why I'm looking in that general area is to cut down on the amount of time it takes to get to the ocean.

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2003 Pursuit 3070 Offshore CC, twin Yamaha F250s. (SOLD)

noles94

i don't know from first hand experience, but from the map it looks like about 15 miles +/- to the skyway, which basically divides the bay from the gulf.

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What I miss the most about not having a boat...

Logan9581

Its another 4 miles at least from the skyway to the gulf (egmont key). If you want something close to the ocean, look in the maderia beach area. Or if you dont mind driving, Galatis on Anna Maria Island is less than a half mile from the ocean.

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Capt. Logan

OspreyVic

Not that I am looking for more boaters in my neighborhood, but I would suggest that you check out both Sarasota and Charlotte counties. I moved to Sarasota in 1973 and love it here.

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Vic in Osprey FL
2005 Triumph 210 CC

HullSlap

I'm a tampa native and lived there most of my life until six months ago when I moved 50 miles south to Sarasota.

I agree with Logan9581 if you want a short boat ride to the Gulf then forget about the east side of the bay or upper Tampa Bay. It's about 20 miles from the Gandy Bridge ramp to out past the Skyway. The ride can be pretty rough going on windy days (almost every day in spring after 12:30 p.m.). I've found that the best fishing in the Tampa Bay area can be found within a few miles of the Skyway Bridge. Follow the egmont ship channell out and you're sure to find some Kingfish from March- early May and again from October - November. If you can find a reasonably priced place to live (Madeira beach south or Anna Maria) you'll always be near some excellent fishing. I live in sarasota now and really miss fishing around the Fort DeSoto/Skyway area. Lots of reds and trout around Fort DeSoto. Tarpon around the bridges and off the beaches. Fort DeSoto park has the best boat ramp you'll ever see. Just picture one huge ramp about 80 yards wide maybe more.

Most people in this area trailer their boats. Marinas are expensive and being sold to developers at an alarming rate. You may rent a slip today only to have it sold out from under you tomorrow. If you decide to trailer then you have lots more real estate to pick from. You can still get a lot of house for your money in the Brandon/Riverview area just east of Tampa. I sold our house in Brandon six months ago for $235k (contemporary, 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage, huge custom pool, 1400 sq feet of screened patio, lake front). I paid nearly twice as much for less house in Sarasota ... ouch! In eastern Hillsborough county you will have to tow about 40 minutes to find a ramp close to the mouth of the bay or you can tow 5 minutes to several local ramps that give you access to the east side of the bay. The flexibility of towing is a real plus in west central Florida. I still tow from Sarasota to hurricane pass by Honeymoon Island (near Dunedin) to fish for monster snook in the spring and summer and Tarpon Springs during winter (Anclote powerplant outflow).

E-mail me when you move down and we'll talk fishing and boating.

Please don't tell your friends how great it is down here once you move. It's getting pretty crowded............starting to think I'm one of only ten living FL natives left.

Nice lookin' rig ya got there OspreyVic! Where do you launch?

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2005 Sea Hunt 202, Honda BF150 2009 Toyota Tundra

Reel Pursuit

great info guys, keep it coming.
Just curious but how far west of the Skyway do you have to run to get into billfish, tuna, dolphin, etc?
Hullslap- I'll definitely contact you when I get there. We can trade a few trips. I have a lot to learn in a new area but I'm a quick learner. We may be coming down in late Feb/early March timeframe for a "scouting mission."

Part of why we're looking at the eastern side of the bay is that my wife's cousin lives in Lithia. We also have a horse to board and she's made some contacts with a facility in Riverview. None of this is carved in stone at this point though.

I was hoping for a shorter offshore ride. As it stands now when I go offshore it's about 15 miles to the backside of Martha's Vineyard and then anywhere from 30-50 miles south depending on where the bite/temp breaks are. In the summertime we typically get very choppy conditions in Buzzards Bay in the afternoon due to the southwesterlies. Almost like clockwork. Who knows, maybe I'll take up the SKA tournaments. Will I be the only one fishing from a walkaround?

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2003 Pursuit 3070 Offshore CC, twin Yamaha F250s. (SOLD)

HullSlap

I'm guessing about 30+ miles from Skyway for more serious offshore fish.

Sounds like the east side of the bay is your best bet. Lots of places to board the horse the further east you go. I would definitely consider trailering when you want to head offshore. Long ride from the Riverview area to the Gulf. Probably 120 mile roundtrip for the kind of fishing you're talking about.

We get the afternoon sea breeze daily during spring and summer. Light chop when you launch in the morning, the light east breeze slowly dies by 11:00 a.m., at around noon it's flat calm then the breeze shifts around from the west. By 2:00 p.m. you have a nasty chop to deal with. The west coast sea breeze moves inland and collides with the east coast sea breeze. This creates nasty thunderstorms that slowly move West and hit the Tampa area between 3:30 and 6:00 p.m. I'm usually back at the dock no later than 2:00 p.m.

You'll probably be the only person fishing the SKA in a walkaround. There are a few guys fishing off walkarounds here but not as common as CC boats. What brand/model boat do you have? If it floats you'll see it down here so I wouldn't worry.

I'm off for spring break in early March (hell, I'm off a whole month for Christmas right now.......gotta love being a college professor! ). Let me know when you're going to be in town.

Good luck finding a home!

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2005 Sea Hunt 202, Honda BF150 2009 Toyota Tundra

Reel Pursuit

Hullslap-
I'm running a 2002 Pursuit 2470. One option I have is to sell the boat before I move and then buy another in Fla. The question is: CC or WA? I've always liked the WA to keep me dry in the slop and lots of storage room. I may change my mind about this when I live in Fla year-round.
Anyway, Happy Holidays to everyone who responded. Local knowledge is greatly appreciated.

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2003 Pursuit 3070 Offshore CC, twin Yamaha F250s. (SOLD)