St. Pete's Beach, Fl

Posted this in th Florida discusssion board a few days ago wiht no help from the locals so i thought i would get your guys opinions/experiences. The family and I are headed down to St. Pete's beach last full week of July. Anyone ever do any shore fishing in that area or know an affodable (when I say affordable I mean dirt cheap, not a lot to play with) charter (or good buddy) that might take a country boy out for a day fishing? Would love to bring some fresh sea food home but would just as well love to catch some of those huge Florida bass on a good catch and release trip. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Tim

I stayed a bit north of there years ago, in Crystal River, FL. We went out in a little 18 ft skiff each day, and fished the flats for anything that would bite. Caught lots of speckled trout and redfish. We even went out a little ways, dropped anchor, and chummed for sharks - caught several blacktips, various small sharks, a few large stingrays, and some spanish mackerel.

If it were me, I'd be looking for a place to rent a little 18 ft skiff or so and see what I could go out and catch. That would be an adventure in itself.

I don't know that this will help or what you are looking for but here goes.

I don't know much about shore fishing. Next step up would be fishing from one of the piers. They normally charge a minimal amount for access. Kind of like fishing from a bridge.

Low cost charter party boat, bottom fishing, take a night trip if available. Take heavier freshwater spinning tackle if you have it. They will furnish heavy salt water spinning tackle suitable for landing Jaws. About as sensitive as a fence post.

Regular Charter boat may be too much $$$. Your best bet would be go to the marina and look for someone who needs an additional person to make up a trip. The harbor master may be able to assist you with that.

Freshwater bass trip in July? You likely won't catch anything like you are dreaming about. For a guided trip you may find something for around $275 to $325. If I were spending that kind of money I would consider a saltwater trip in the salt water marshes. You might catch something for dinner and you will have a unique experience.

Feel free to PM me for further discussion.

Have a wonderful trip and don't forget the SPF 50 sunscreen!!
Bumblebee_1

For shore fishing, the best I've found to use is a regular old 7' med. heavy rod, and baitcaster with about 15 lb. mono. - tie up a carolina rig with a steel leader. Use fresh shrimp for bait. This will catch all the whiting and sand perch you can eat.

Those big surf rods you see guys using are what you'd want for bigger fish, but in all the saltwater shore fishing I've done, rarely do you catch anything bigger than 5 lbs. and those big bulky rods are just overkill.

Be sure and pickup a fish ID booklet, as well as a regulations booklet. On one trip I was catching sand trout thinking they were specs. - specs. had a size limit, sand trout did not. I threw back a lot of sand trout that should have gone into the skillet! DOH!

I go down to Fort Pierce a couple of times a year. I don't have any information on St Pete specifically. This post assumes you don't mind working a little bit. Anyway, here is what I do. I rent a fishing kayak for a full day or I rent one for the whole week. I'm not sure if you have looked into the sit on top fishing kayaks, but there are pretty nice and allow you to get around easily. They are especially good for fishing the flats. I'm sure if you Google St Pete kayak rental then you will get a ton of results. The sport has exploded and there are many places that have them. Just make sure if you go this route you get the sit on top (angler) versions.

It's very easy to rig one up. Basically get a milk crate and some PVC pipe. Cut the PVC pipe and attach three to four pieces of it upright to the sides of the crate. Now you have 3-4 rod holders for when you are paddling. Just Google that as well and you can see all kinds of cheap things you can do. Also you can keep your tackle in the crate. Most all these Kayaks have a small well behind the seat with Bungee cords where you can attach the crate. You can also get a bait bucket if you want to go that route.

Here is an article from some Kayak fisherman about the St. Pete area:
[URL]http://www.sportfishingmag.com/kayak-fishing/kayak-fishing-florida-s-gulf-coast[/URL]

Here is a shop that rents boats in the area:
[URL]http://www.canoecountryfl.com/Rentals_ep_40.html[/URL]

Obviously you need to be in OK health to go this route. I have to warn you though If you try this out you will become addicted...haha. Nothing like being out there close to the water catching a 20lb Redfish. Also, there are probably a ton of small islands you can paddle to and get out and wade around. Some shops have kayak and canoe trails just like going up to Cave Country on the Blue River in Indiana.

Anyway, just thought I'd throw that out there as an option. Last time I rented a Kayak for the whole week and they provided a transport kit for my car for free. I fished Okeechobee for Largemouth and I fished the Fort Pierce inlet as well.

If it's shore and in shore fishing, I second the Kayak idea. I fished in the pan handle last July so the things running at St Pete will be a little different with certain migrations and all. At the time I fished in the Pan handle, we did great on whiting from the shore with live and fresh bait. We also had schools of Lady fish come through fairly close and a MirrOlure would get two or three before the schools headed out. But many times, those schools were too far out to reach without a boat. I didn't get one but I'll highly consider it next time if I go later in the year. We did a near shore trip and had a blast with all the Spanish we could handle. Those would have been reachable via Kayak as well. I'm headed down to the Pan Handle this Friday but the Pomps are between the first breaker and the wash, so light tackle from shore will be just fine.

I do agree that many people over do it on rod size down there at times. But you may still need some heavier gear if the fish are at or beyond the second breaker. The tackle then is more for tossing heavy weights than for fish size. I made the mistake of throwing 1.5 oz on lighter tackle last year and busted a rod. My rule of thumb now is to go as light on tackle as it takes to reach the fish.

Advise if you do the kayak thing and there is surf. Practice getting it past the breakers and back in without your tackle until you get the hang of it.

I think I might have the perfect low-cost solution for you.

Right around the corner from St. Pete Beach (only a mile or two) is Tierra Verde. Just down the road from here is Ft. Desoto Park, which is actually an island in Tampa Bay that you can drive to. This is a absolutely fantastic place to fish for many species cheaply. The island is shaped like the letter "C", so you can surf fish the outer beaches or fish from one of two piers OR you can rent a canoe and fish the mangroves on the inside of the island. Lots of different species can be caught here including redfish, seatrout, snook, tarpon, pompano.......just about anything really. There is a bait shop in Tierra Verde called the Bait Bucket where you can get a temporary license and any artificial or live bait you need. There is a fee to enter the park, which is a really neat place to check out whether you fish or not. I recommend using live shrimp under a Cajun Thunder bobber or a Mirrorlure if fishing the mangroves. Very possible to catch some nice size fish here. Great beach here as well. Hard to beat this place. Here's more info:

[URL]http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/05_Ft_DeSoto.htm[/URL]

Go to the end of Pass-A-Grill and fish in the moving tides from the end of the little concrete pier at the end of the tip of the pass. Sometimes there is some good fishing there. You don't need a surf rod in July--if the snook are around, they will be caught in the surf wash. I caught my largest snook (a 37" female) from the surf near Pass-A-Grill. Ft. Desoto is also a good option; the gulf pier often has some good Spanish Mac fishing, and there is wade fishing on the east end of the island, but watch out for the sting rays!!!!

Hope this helps,
RA

There is a little bait shop right on that road down by the Don Cesar. Make sure you check out Hurricanes for some good seafood. Grouper is the best IMO.