What can i catch in Tampa/Clearwater area in March?

[Hooligan]

Here it goes: This yankee is headed down to dunedin/ tampa bay from march 13-22 to visit my brother and ive got a 17' scout with a 90hp to fish out of for the week.

Where should i be headed with it and what kind of fish can i target and with what methods out of a 17' boat at this time of year?

Is it possible i could chum up some sharks to please the guys that might come out? (they're not fishermen so i might have to keep their interest so they dont mutiny on me)

I pretty much have any gear i would need to bring so I guess im asking what i could catch from a 17' boat in the area and what gear i should ship down with me. Thanks to all you experts in advance.

[About Time]

Hoologan, Go to page 2 under my topic, Fishing Trrpon Springs. Wooperstoper gave some good info on spots from land and sea. Funny not to many replys from this aera. Maybe the only fishing they do in T.S. is for sponges.. I've asked twice for fishing info and charters for this area with only one reply, I'm going to Holiday the 20th-26 to finish up the familys 18 day vac. Good luck and have fun. I'll be watching your post.. Mitch

[Hooligan]

Mitch i just read the post and im hoping we get some more bites- i consider that ive given some good info on tuna fishing etc in the past for fishing up here and i figure someone has got to know how to fish down there so i can get ONE good day in or so like yourself. guess all we can do is keep jiggin'. Tight lines.

[BareCat]

About Time and Hooligan,
I'm going to be in the Land-O-Lakes area of Florida (not too far from TS) for the month of March. I too would like to know about any charters/head boats going out of the TS area. I won't be taking any gear with me though, figure I'll just rent gear if I get a ride.

Brade

[Prop Blast]

Hooligan,

You should be in good shape that time of year. The water on ICW in Clearwater was 64-66 degrees yesterday and should be around 70 by the time you arrive.

What that means is that the live bait will be showing up which will get the snook, redfish, and jacks all fired up. Trout are hot right now. There should also be the start of the Spanish and King Mackerel runs. It'll be too early for tarpon for the most part.

8-12lb spinning gear is all you'll need. Two great all-around rigs:
* Gloomis HSR 930S (7'9'' -- great for throwing live bait a good distance) paired with good spinning reel spooled with 20lb micro fiber line. This rig will handle almost any snook, jack, mackerel, ...
* Gloomis PR842S (7' for the reds and trout) with suitable sized reel. I use a Shimano Symtre 2000 with 8lb test mono on mine.

This is the "dry" time of year, so the water should be pretty clear. Recommend you use flourocarbon for your leader material -- whether using live bait or artificials. 20 & 30lb should be fine. When macks are around, use a short 6" wire trace -- #2 or #3 size will be fine.

I hope the weather will be great -- just look out for all the spring breakers!

Prop Blast

[dpdash]

check out www.floridasportsman.com, under the Forum, under west coast of Fl. Lots of helpful people with accurate fishing reports.

[Hooligan]

Thanks for the info- I'll check out the florida sportsman site as soon as i get a chance, dp i'll bring my 20lb spinning outfits for the groupers/snappers i hear they're good eatin'

I just cant wait to get out of new england for a week its about time for a sunny FLA vacation.

[GravyBoat]

I will be heading down that way in April. I went out and fished the area between Anclote Key and the Power plant last year. We had some luck with trout, spanish macs, and an assortment of other fishes. I would like to fish that area again but my grandfather will be on a cruise this year and I won't have a boat. Does anyone know where I can rent a boat in this area?

[2ndCurse]

Hooligan,
I was down in Jan. didn't get much fishing in, but chartered a guy last year for Reds, trout, etc. if you're interested I'll get you his #. If nothing else pick his brain, he was writing for some local mags so he's know's whats around.
Tom

[chorn24]

Read my other post about April, should be fairly close conditions.