The fishing has been fantastic this Spring and May and June are no exception! We have been blessed with some really great weather (until recently) which allowed Captain Bernie to run a ton of trips and catch some incredible fish! The Tarpon bite has been great and fish are being caught in the passes, at the bridges, and off the beaches. It pays to come prepared for a day of Tarpon fishing with a line up of different baits and tactics to get these fish flying all over the place and this is how we do it at First Cast. Dead bait, live bait, crabs, shad, cut bait, it all plays an important roll in hooking into a monster Tarpon. Angler “Scott” featured in the photo below fought this 200lb Class fish for almost 2 hours before we landed it, grabbed a couple quick photos, and sent her off swimming to fight another day. We will be targeting these fish for the next couple months until they eventually leave our area. Give us a call and book a Full Day Tarpon Trip to have the best chance and getting up close with one of these amazing fish. In between stellar Tarpon bites, Captain Bernie has been running trips on the flats and back in the mangroves producing high numbers of Snook in the 20-30in range. The fish are most active early in the morning and have been feeding on mainly pilchards and pinfish. Flounder have also been making an appearance on many of our trips and they provide an opportunity for clients to take some fish home for dinner. These fish are fantastic table fair and put up a pretty good fight. Tampa Bay flounder are most abundant in the 8-12in range so catching a big one is always a welcomed catch. The Redfish should start getting fired up her in the next month or so, so be on the lookout for some big ones in our next fishing report!

Fishing has been fantastic inside of the Bay and off the beaches for the last 2 months. The big snook are finally starting to show up and they are stacking up in the passes and in and around the the mangrove Islands. The redfish are also starting to make an appearance. Here at First Cast Fishing Charters we have been averaging 20-30 snook per trip and usually a half a dozen or so red fish. The trout bite has been slowing down a little bit with the fish moving into the deeper grass Flats. Finally the tarpon have been starting to show up and will be taking over the bay in big numbers in the next few weeks. This is the time of year to have an opportunity to catch a huge tarpon AKA the Silver King. These fish have been showing up in the hundred pound range and have been eating crabs and large live baits at the bridges passes and many other places inside the bay. Book your trip today to have an opportunity to catch a fish of a lifetime.

The snook bite has been incredible the past few weeks. Even with the passing cold fronts and drop in water temperature, the fish have been super agressive! As a seasoned captain, knowing when it's time to switch tackle and bait tactics is an absolute must. Staying on the water, even on days without a charter, is a must in order to stay on top of the feeding patterns!

The weather has been perfect for our inshore snook fishery. With bait all over the flats and schools of fish piled up over sandy patches, catching snook of all sizes has been the ticket. There are redfish in the mix as well. Despite our recent red tide drama, the fish are healthy and hungry! This pattern should hold up for the next month or so. With colder weather approaching, the snook and redfish will be schooling up even tighter and our flounder bite will be on fire. Book a trip with First Cast Fishing Charters today and lets go catch some fish!