Fishing in Florida 2013!

[iJay]

So just got off the phone with the travel agent and charter boat's office.

From June 7-16th We will be in Florida and have 2 days booked that we will be fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. I am crossing my fingers we don't have a storm before or during as they have slowed down our days.

I want to target Marlin while on the open waters, will definatly be doing some river/backwater fishing while there. Hoping for a monster Gar to show the boards!

So excited!!!!

 

[mikea07]

Where in Florida are you going?

I spend a lot of time down there on the Gulf coast but I have never gone out there fishing while I was down. I know that the experience would totally be worth the cost but I find the charters a little expensive for me, being a young guy.

 

[iJay]

Im kinda youngish im 27. I have been out a ocuple times. If you take the charters out during the week they are alot cheaper.

We are landing in Orlando, staying in Tampa most of the trip. Will be going to Miami, Daytona key west. I really hope to fish in Key west, I havent before but it is hard to orcastrate properly as down there most of the charters are remote and thier phone lines are down alot.

 

[mikea07]

I'm going to be going down in October and I'd love to get out. I'll be down in Southwest Florida in Naples. There are a lot of charters that leave out of Naples but I'd be willing to go down to the Keys as well.

What type of charter did you book? Is it a small group of you and a few people going out or are you on a larger charter with other groups that you do not know?

I think that the reason I usually find it expensive is because I am looking at the smaller charters that take out 2-6 people where you have to put together your own group.

I have no idea about the larger ones and don't even know where to start looking. It will be just my girlfriend and I going so it would be much more cost effective to get onto a boat that takes 20 people out for the day so that the cost would be much lower.

What do you think?

 

[BASSMASTER19]

where about in florida, tampa ? i just came back from florida before the salmon runs started and could give you some tips, ive always wanted to go on a charter but being 14 i cant help the cost for my dad so its piers and swamps for me, lol :mrgreen:

 

[FishingNoob]

I've been out every time I head to place that has salt water fishing, I afford it by not buying new fresh water tackle and when I do I always buy on sale. If you through a tourist agency it's expensive, go to the local dock and talk around it's about 1/3 of the price in Florida in Mexico or South America it's about 1/4 of the price. I'm talking deep sea private fishing on like a 30-40 foot boat with full service. Still pretty steep at around 200-400 dollars but way better then the 800-1000 dollars that I see all the time. Plus when you head down to the local dock, you not only meet charters but might also meet commercial fishermen, especially in small towns and they always have good stories...

 

[iJay]

Mike- We booked a 36 foot private boat. My fiance and I are going down, but we are meeting up with a group of 6 of my cousins down there so the 8 of us it cost $600 for the day, they include bait/tackle food and drinks. They have even allowed us to bring our own alcohol. I can tellyou this from stories, don't go for the cheapest boat, don't go for the most expensive either. I would bring some kind of protection as well, you never know what you can encounter in international waters.

Chasin Tails- Great on you for being such a young fishermen! When I was your age I would havedied for salt water fishing. In Tampa, I know a couple great spots for salt water fishing, one of them being "Skyway bridge fishing pier" I have been there many times cuaght many different kinds of fish, from stuff I didnt even reconize to sharks, seen dolphins schools of jellyfish manta rays. Heck we even caught our own bait (greenbacks). Let me know some f the places you know I will definatly like to give em a try. We will be in Tampa, Orlando, Miami, Daytona and Keywest

Fishing Noob- I 100% agree with you on this, I personally have seen the price difference with booking thru an agent. Just like with anything if you go direct to the source no middle man to pay. I have heard during spring break and high season people getting to the dock and there are no boat available. We were lucky enough to find a deal thru groupon via my cousins down in Tampa.

 

[mikea07]

$600 for the day for 8 people is really good. Unfortunately it will just be my girlfriend and I don't have other people down there to get out with. That price, per person, would be ideal for me though.

What do you mean by bringing some kind of protection?

Ideally I'd like the charter to leave out of Naples just because that is where I am staying but would definitely look into leaving from the Keys as well. Trouble with that is that I wouldn't be able to go down to check things out, I'd have to book in advance.

Groupon is a good idea though. I'm definitely going to go online and check out to see if they have any deals running that will be valid for the time I'm down there.

 

[FishingNoob]

Fishing Noob- I 100% agree with you on this, I personally have seen the price difference with booking thru an agent. Just like with anything if you go direct to the source no middle man to pay. I have heard during spring break and high season people getting to the dock and there are no boat available. We were lucky enough to find a deal thru groupon via my cousins down in Tampa.

Ya, charters do get booked up fast.When I get spring break I normally get a few days before every else gets off work, so I travel then and miss the crowds.

 

[BASSMASTER19]

Mike- We booked a 36 foot private boat. My fiance and I are going down, but we are meeting up with a group of 6 of my cousins down there so the 8 of us it cost $600 for the day, they include bait/tackle food and drinks. They have even allowed us to bring our own alcohol. I can tellyou this from stories, don't go for the cheapest boat, don't go for the most expensive either. I would bring some kind of protection as well, you never know what you can encounter in international waters.

Chasin Tails- Great on you for being such a young fishermen! When I was your age I would havedied for salt water fishing. In Tampa, I know a couple great spots for salt water fishing, one of them being "Skyway bridge fishing pier" I have been there many times cuaght many different kinds of fish, from stuff I didnt even reconize to sharks, seen dolphins schools of jellyfish manta rays. Heck we even caught our own bait (greenbacks). Let me know some f the places you know I will definatly like to give em a try. We will be in Tampa, Orlando, Miami, Daytona and Keywest

Fishing Noob- I 100% agree with you on this, I personally have seen the price difference with booking thru an agent. Just like with anything if you go direct to the source no middle man to pay. I have heard during spring break and high season people getting to the dock and there are no boat available. We were lucky enough to find a deal thru groupon via my cousins down in Tampa.

ya, i love meeting people and finding new fshing spot and mainly having fun but hey, i wouldnt mind some fish either :mrgreen:

 

[iJay]

So we are 2 days away from leaving! We have our 36' boat booked now.

Booked a second day of fishing for TARPON! Omg I cannot wait, one week today we will be on open waters looking for these tail standing giants!

 

[iJay]

3 fishing trips in salt water and ALOT of fish were caught.

Ashley and I went out to Tampa's skyway fishing pier around midnight, using 80lbs main line, 30lbs mono leader. Caught a 3 foot black tip shark, I really wasnt expecting to catch this. When we left home we had just 2 rods with us, no buckets no gloves nothing. When we caught this no one was arround. I opted to use a sock over my hand to not damage the sharks skin, it took me about 10 minutes to get it to the point where I was comfortable to get the hook out, lots of life left in her. Took a couple pics and thru her back, she swam off safely. We then caught and landed a 8-10lbs grouper. We were using frozen squid as bait.

Second trip was on the boat we chartered. We were able to fish 3 different locations combination of Red grouper, Yellow snapper, Brown snapper, Pompano and Grunts-as the locals called them. This was on fresh squid and sardines. I have a ton of pics for theses we kept what we were legally allowed to. My cousins and uncles cooked them later that evening.

Third trip was back to Skyway fishing pier. Caught Pompano, couple crabs, brown snapper and a spanish macarel.

All in all I was happy to have caught something let alone keepers!

 

[Dugger]

Awesome! I fished the state once and loved it.... i wanna go back. Glad you had success!

 

[iJay]

I need to figure out how to post pics.
Got a few on my iPhone, but I have a whole bunch from my water proof camera hanging off the side of the canoe in crystal clear waters.

on our canoe trip we saw tons of schools of fish, perch, bass, mullet, sheep head all kinds of stuff!

 

[Dozer]

Use photobucket and upload 'em through their site. Then post the image codes located on the bottom right box of the image in a post here. IMG code or something along those lines is what you are looking for. Can't wait to see the pictures!

 

[chris f]

sounds like you had a great trip ijay, thanks for posting and sharing, if you figure out how to post up some pics that would be nice