Hurricane Irma did little more than provide a big scare to the Central West Coast of Florida. While some areas sustained major and unfortunate damage The Tampa Bay area dodged yet another major storm. Aside from some downed trees and a few days without power the area is back up running and open for business as usual!! Additionally with all the rain and cooler air temperatures the fishing has really ramped up!! Snook season opened on September first and the Redfish are eating all over the region. With the first few cool fronts we should see the beginning of the migratory species such as Cobia, Kingfish and Spanish Mackerel as well!! In many ways the hurricane scare actually improved the fishing for us!! Don't be fooled by the images on the news; Florida is running on all cylinders and ready for your visit!!!

Water temps are still hovering around 90 in the afternoons but the fish have been feeding well. Snook season opens in less than a week, the Redfish are bunching up in larger schools like they do every Fall and the inshore Mangrove Snapper bite has already begun. Plenty of Trout are still around and recent trips have produced solid mixed bags on multiple species as well as good numbers of the top tier gamefish!!

Early fall in Florida doesn't start until November some years, but we had a recent "cold" front this past weekend. It was all good news as the bait stayed put and the big 3 inshore species (Snook, Redfish and Trout) made a move from their Summer haunts to the places they'll spend the Fall and Winter. The last two trips recorded multiple inshore slams with overslot Redfish and 40+" Snook mixed into the daily hauls! Cobia are starting to show up more and more everyday as well. Fishing only looks to get better as the cooler air keeps the Gulf water in the mid 70 degree zone that all our our residential and pelagic species thrive in!!