6.8.24 OFFSHORE

Posted on by
Name of Captain; Bob Sherley
Where were you fishing? OFFSHORE
Is this a tournament entry Fishing Report; No
The date you went fishing; 06-08-2024
Your Name; Tom Saska
Your Fishing Report: If this is a tournament report do not state the fish’s length in this box. State the length and species in the box below The day started off with a rough ride out to 110 foot ARS spot, found a charter boat sitting on the spot we just drove 2.5 hours to get to.  Started looking around for other marks and found none so we headed to another area for red grouper.  Hit a jackpot on the way there.  Stopped the boat and caught way too many red grouper and a few red snapper and one mangrove.  Red grouper sizes were 31-3/4, 31, 29, 28-1/2, 27-1/2, 25, 23 & 21.  ARS sizes were 31, 28-1/2 & 22-1/2.  19-1/2 Mangrove.
Type a question Yes

5.29.24 INSHORE

Posted on by
Name of Captain; John Grieder
Where were you fishing? INSHORE
Is this a tournament entry Fishing Report; No
The date you went fishing; 05-29-2024
Your Name; John Grieder
Your Fishing Report: If this is a tournament report do not state the fish’s length in this box. State the length and species in the box below NOAA said it would be 5-10 increasing to 10-15 in the afternoon.  They were half right:  It was blowing a steady 10+ when we left the dock around 11:00 to see how active the fish would be with water temps at 85+.

Frank Bellizio and I made several drops at a few different haunts and did okay, count wise, but nothing special.  We’d drift for a bit then try a new spot if we didn’t get much activity.

Enroute to our last stop for the day the winds were a steady 15+ with whitecaps all around.  And it was hot!  If it wasn’t for the wind it would have been HOTZ (the Z makes it sizzle).  So the breeze did keep us cool.

The whole point of fishing with friends is to have fun, laugh and enjoy the day on the water.  At the last stop we started with simultaneous hookups (with catfish) which produced some laughs (and groans).

Aside from catching some trout and a few undesirables, we also caught a few pinfish.  The pictures show our catches (not what we were using for bait.  (More laughter here)

So we had another fun day on the water trying to outfox the foxes.

5.24.24 OFFSHORE

Posted on by
Name of Captain; Mike Spanhel
Where were you fishing? OFFSHORE
Is this a tournament entry Fishing Report; No
The date you went fishing; 05-24-2024
Your Fishing Report: If this is a tournament report do not state the fish’s length in this box. State the length and species in the box below Mike Spanhel invited Frank Bellizio, Stu Johnson and John Grieder for a hogfish trip.  We left the dock at 8:15 and went out to around 38 feet.

Fishing stations worked out to be – Stu and John starboard side; Mike and Frank port side.

Outcome:  Starboard side — grunts.  Port side – red grouper, triggerfish, mangrove snapper and hogfish.  That’s the way it works sometimes.  Frank and Mike eventually released the floodgates and Stu and John finally started catching some hogfish.   And there were plenty to go around.  By the end of the tour we all caught our fair share.

Back at the dock Frank worked his magic with his electric knife and had them filleted in no time.  And a great time was had by all – thanks, Mike!

And now it’s time for some baconator fish tacos:  They are, after all, hogfish, right?
Type a question Yes

5.17.24 INSHORE

Posted on by
Name of Captain; Frank Bellizio
Where were you fishing? INSHORE
Is this a tournament entry Fishing Report; No
The date you went fishing; 05-17-2024
Your Name; Frank Bellizio
Your Fishing Report: If this is a tournament report do not state the fish’s length in this box. State the length and species in the box below Yesterday was a bittersweet day of fishing.  First the sweet, I was on the water catching fish with my friend and fellow club member John Grieder.  We caught a few fish but the best fish of the day for me was the keeper redfish in the picture. Now the bitter, my outboard motor started overheating and we had to call Sea Tow to come out and tow us back to the marina.  It was still a great day so I won’t complain too much until I get the bill.  Thanks, Flip’s Marine Service in Tarpon Springs for fitting me in your service lineup quickly.
Type a question Yes

4.24.24 INSHORE

Posted on by
Name of Captain; John Grieder
Where were you fishing? INSHORE
Is this a tournament entry Fishing Report; No
The date you went fishing; 04-24-2024
Your Name; John Grieder
Your Fishing Report: If this is a tournament report do not state the fish’s length in this box. State the length and species in the box below In the lee of the spoil islands.

Frank Bellizio and I decided to head south and fish around the spoil islands.  With the wind out of the south and the outgoing tide going south we were able to hang around and circumnavigate one island for quite a while without much maneuvering at all.

We caught a nice menagerie of redfish, trout, black drum, squirrel-fish and dogfish.  The catch was nothing to write home about but it was a beautiful day to be out on the water.
Type a question Yes

04.25.24 OFF SHORE

Posted on by
Where were you fishing? OFFSHORE
Is this a tournament entry Fishing Report; Yes
The date you went fishing; 04-25-2024
Your Name; Frank Bellizio
Your Fishing Report: If this is a tournament report do not state the fish’s length in this box. State the length and species in the box below It was one of those days on the water that you just couldn’t ask for more.  Capt Mike Kaplan invited Mike Spanhel, Bob Sherley and me out for a day of offshore fishing targeting Red Grouper.  Were in the water and leaving the Nick’s Park at quarter to 7am. It took up about 2 hours to reach our first drop at 100ft.  Mike hooked up with the biggest red grouper of the day on his first or second drop. We spend about 2 hours at this spot and boated 3 more grouper and a few Lane snapper and grunts.  We moved a coupe of times to other nearby spots and picked up 4 more keeper red grouper.  The bite was on herring and fish heads.  We had hit our limit a little before 2pm so we headed in.  The seas were calm and the temperature just right.  Thanks Capt Mike for a heck of a day of fishing.
If this report includes a tournament entry please state the species and length of the fish caught in this box. Mike Kaplan  red grouper 28″
Mike Spanhel red grouper 23.5″
Type a question Yes

4.24.24 OFFSHORE

Posted on by
Name of Captain; Jim Thirkill
Where were you fishing? OFFSHORE
Is this a tournament entry Fishing Report; Yes
The date you went fishing; 04-25-2024
Your Name; Jim Thirkill
Your Fishing Report: If this is a tournament report do not state the fish’s length in this box. State the length and species in the box below Offshore trip with Marc C, Mike B, and Rick U.
Bite was slow, but we managed quite a few keeper red grouper and with a misc of other types, including a big bluefish for Marc.
If this report includes a tournament entry please state the species and length of the fish caught in this box. Jim Thirkill – red grouper 24.5″
Type a question No

4.15.24 OFFSHORE

Posted on by
Name of Captain; Carlos Bastas
Where were you fishing? OFFSHORE
Is this a tournament entry Fishing Report; Yes
The date you went fishing; 04-15-2024
Your Name; Frank Bellizio
Your Fishing Report: If this is a tournament report do not state the fish’s length in this box. State the length and species in the box below You couldn’t ask for a much better day for offshore fishing.  Mike Spanhel and I join Capt Carlos, him mate and one other fisherman, Bret for a trip out to 95ft of water off Tarpon Springs.  The trip out was smooth but chilly at first but later in the day things warmed up and it quite comfortable.  Our first drop was at 95 ft and it was a good one. On the first drop Bret boated the largest Red Grouper of the day, 29″ but the short Reds and Lane snapper just kept coming.  We moved to a second spot when thing slowed a bit and at this location both Mike and I caught matching size Red Grouper.  Mike added a really big Mangrove Snapper at this stop.  Over the morning and early afternoon we caught a lot of Mangrove Snapper, Red Grouper and Lane Snapper. Mike had a hot rod with catching Mangrove Snapper. We limited out on Red Grouper and headed in to try for some Hogfish.  Both Bret and I managed catch 1 keeper Hogfish.  By the way there were a few grunts in the deeper water but the Hogs were in 65 ft of water and they used up most our time reeling them in.  All and All, it was an awesome day of fishing.
If this report includes a tournament entry please state the species and length of the fish caught in this box. Mike Spanhel  Red Grouper 221/2″
Frank Bellizio Red Grouper 221/2″

3.17.24 OFFSHORE

Posted on by
Name of Captain; Joe Stand
Where were you fishing? OFFSHORE
Is this a tournament entry Fishing Report; Yes
The date you went fishing; 03-17-2024
Your Name; Terry Reelitz
Your Fishing Report: If this is a tournament report do not state the fish’s length in this box. State the length and species in the box below Joe Stand needed to blow the cobwebs out and get Bobby Sauban fishing before a little back fixin’ up, so a day on the water chasing Red G’s was scheduled. Shelli & Bob Sauban were joined by Terry Reelitz Sunday morning and headed out to 100’ of blue water after a little delay waiting for the fog to clear up.Tide was really funky, so all were a little apprehensive and hesitant to start bragging as we headed out that morning. Stopped along the way to pick up some Grunts, that was the forest omen that it was going to be a strange day filled with challenges. Grunts were hard to catch, the Squirrels were plentiful, that is very unusual.Seas were calm, fog very light, water clear but current was at a snail’s pace.Nonetheless we started soaking a smorgasbord of baits, Ladyfish, Squirrels, Squid, and Grunts. The bite was steady out of the gate on first drift, lots – I mean lots of shorts. The good thing was that the shorts were healthy and fat. Over the next couple drifts, Shelli snagged a 24” fattie that had her on her tip toes and pulling extremely hard.That was probably the highlight of the day… from there it was multiple shorts (all healthy & chunky) but there were long periods between the 4 keepers we did manage.It was a smooth ride back after a full day, it was just a slow day without the water moving. There were maybe another half dozen strong hits that went unhooked but that was about it. The good news is the population is thick as thieves and healthy.Weather was nice, the boat got a good stretch and we all figured out how to fish again – so ‘a good time was had by all’Thanks Captain Joe
If this report includes a tournament entry please state the species and length of the fish caught in this box. Shelli Sauban 24″ Red Grouper
Type a question No

3.14.24 INSHORE

Posted on by
Name of Captain; John Grieder
Where were you fishing? INSHORE
Is this a tournament entry Fishing Report; No
The date you went fishing; 03-14-2024
Your Name; Frank Bellizio
Your Fishing Report: If this is a tournament report do not state the fish’s length in this box. State the length and species in the box below It was another beautiful day on the water.  After hearing the captain at the March meeting John and I decided to fish the spoil islands at Dunedin.  The action was quite slow but we manage to pick up a few fish.  The redfish was caught on cut mullet and the trout on a white gulp.
If this report includes a tournament entry please state the species and length of the fish caught in this box. Frank Bellizio Trout 10 inches, you never know nobody has been doing tournament reports.
Type a question Yes