Tarpon Springs Fishing Reports (January 2025)

Cody Beckman
Tampa, Florida
Reported: 3 days ago

Too good not to post… so a client comes in from the eastern shore of Maryland and says he wants to catch snook. Mind you, he has never seen a snook in his life, let alone catch one. So we set out with a clear goal to target big snook...

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Cody Beckman Tampa, Florida Reported: 3 days ago

Too good not to post… so a client comes in from the eastern shore of Maryland and says he wants to catch snook. Mind you, he has never seen a snook in his life, let alone catch one. So we set out with a clear goal to target big snook but neither us of, especially me, expected to hook into this absolute behemoth. Most people will never get an opportunity to catch a snook this big and if they do, most people won’t be able to land it. This fish did not make it easy on us; we got her boat side and in the net and she immediately shook her head and ripped a huge hole in the landing net with her gill plates. This is when the chaos ensued. She swam through the net and wrapped the power pole and motor and swam completely under the boat while still being hooked. So I immediately jumped in the water and swam under the boat to secure the fish. I managed to get a good grip on her bottom lip and pull her from under the boat and untangle the mess she got us in. Instead of taking this big fish out of the water in the heat of summer, I kindly but sternly “asked” him to get in the water also for the picture. Fish that big in water temps this hot do not survive if kept of out the water for the normal boat picture “photoshoot”. He didn’t hesitate and jumped in and we got this amazing photo of his fish of lifetime. The rest of the day everyone was smiling from ear to ear and in shock of what had just taken place. A day and fish I’m sure neither of us will ever forget.

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Ron Finger with Fishhawk Charters
Tierra Verde, Florida
Reported: 5 days ago

Hogfish is one of the more exotic-looking reef fish encountered when offshore fishing. A large bottom-feeder, Hogfish are targeted in areas just inshore and offshore of the main reef locations. Hog Snapper, or Hogfish, is a large species of wrasse that is easily identified by its long, hog-like snout and...

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Ron Finger with Fishhawk Charters Tierra Verde, Florida Reported: 5 days ago

Hogfish is one of the more exotic-looking reef fish encountered when offshore fishing. A large bottom-feeder, Hogfish are targeted in areas just inshore and offshore of the main reef locations. Hog Snapper, or Hogfish, is a large species of wrasse that is easily identified by its long, hog-like snout and extendable mouth, which allow the fish to feed on bottom-dwelling mollusks and crustacea. Larger individuals will generally occur in the main reef area, with smaller fish residing among the patch reefs. Hogfish have a strong, flat body that makes even small fish exceptional fighters, and they are considered to be a delicacy in the Florida Keys. Flaky texture and a sweet-rich flavor similar to Scallops have earned the Hogfish a place on the menus of most restaurants. Hogfish have become a highly coveted species for traditional anglers over the last several years. Luckily for us on the gulf side of Florida, Hogfish season is open year-round. In order to be able to keep your catch the Hogfish’s fork length must be at least 14”. The daily bag limit in the Gulf of Mexico is 5 hogfish per harvester. This species is one of the most underrated when it comes to food. However, anyone who has eaten one of their catches knows how delicious they are. Some argue that hogfish may even be tastier than a snapper or flounder fillet.

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George Hastick
St. Petersburg, Florida
Reported: 1 week ago

Trout and redfish have been on fire fishing the docks and the backwaters with some snook mixed in. Shrimp, artificials and scaled sardines have all been working. Fiddler crabs and shrimp have been catching sheepshead.

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George Hastick St. Petersburg, Florida Reported: 1 week ago

Trout and redfish have been on fire fishing the docks and the backwaters with some snook mixed in. Shrimp, artificials and scaled sardines have all been working. Fiddler crabs and shrimp have been catching sheepshead.

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Robert Denbo
Trinity, Florida
Reported: 1 week ago

Trout bite has been on fire!!🔥

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Robert Denbo Trinity, Florida Reported: 1 week ago

Trout bite has been on fire!!🔥

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Christian Lugo
Tampa, Florida
Reported: 2 weeks ago

Currently lots of sheepshead been biting along with some sharks and sand trout. The cold weather has slowed down some bites but the back creeks have been shows to catch them

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Christian Lugo Tampa, Florida Reported: 2 weeks ago

Currently lots of sheepshead been biting along with some sharks and sand trout. The cold weather has slowed down some bites but the back creeks have been shows to catch them

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Ron Finger with Fishhawk Charters
Tierra Verde, Florida
Reported: 1 month ago

gag grouper and most folks think ??? Offshore w/Federal Permits & Credentials No Problem - plenty of reefs and rocks in 60-plus feet of Gulf of Mexico waters hold progressively more and bigger fish, coastal rocks in 50-100 feet of water host impressive populations of adult gag grouper (many keeper...

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Ron Finger with Fishhawk Charters Tierra Verde, Florida Reported: 1 month ago

gag grouper and most folks think ??? Offshore w/Federal Permits & Credentials No Problem - plenty of reefs and rocks in 60-plus feet of Gulf of Mexico waters hold progressively more and bigger fish, coastal rocks in 50-100 feet of water host impressive populations of adult gag grouper (many keeper size) that will absolutely blast a bait well within eyesight. Live offerings are easiest and our Pelagic TEAMs know that a well full of pinfish usually equates to a day of arm-stretching, eye-popping fun. Considering how an Offshore Angler’s first look at a gag grouper generally amounts to a whipped fish languishing at boat side, the Gulf water deal shows you the true beast the dwells within this fish.

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Tyson Wallerstein
Clearwater, Florida
Reported: 1 month ago

Artic air early this week will certainly cool off what’s been a hot wintertime bite. Unseasonably warm water temperatures over the past couple of weeks have helped to get all inshore fish moving around better, especially snook. A good snook bite can be hard to come by this time of...

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Tyson Wallerstein Clearwater, Florida Reported: 1 month ago

Artic air early this week will certainly cool off what’s been a hot wintertime bite. Unseasonably warm water temperatures over the past couple of weeks have helped to get all inshore fish moving around better, especially snook. A good snook bite can be hard to come by this time of year. however they are opportunists and if conditions are right they can feed aggressively especially in the afternoon. Redfish are much more cold tolerant than the snook and can be found shadowing mullet schools in both the Intercoastal waterway as well as the expansive flats of Tampa Bay. Target the first half of the incoming tide for redfish right now. The lower water will make it easier to spot the mullet schools and in turn put you where you need to be for the redfish. Chunk baits such as ladyfish and mullet work excellent under these conditions, allowing you to make extremely long casts to comfortable fish. Scaled sardines a.k.a. pilchards can still be cast netted in volume most days and have been the ticket for getting the snook fired up. The bait has moved deeper and can often be found near the bay bridges in deeper dredge holes. Look for high diving pelicans to give the bait away, typically the higher they dive the bigger the bait. Snook have been willing to creep out of backwater creeks over the last several days, but don’t expect them to venture too far from their safe zone. Target mangrove shoreline’s that have small feeder creeks along them on the later portion of the afternoon incoming tide

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Ike Carrasquillo
Tampa, Florida
Reported: 1 month ago

Pass few weeks have been dead, no Charters for two months because of the hurricanes but it has picked up for me and I have several this month and next month. The Sheepshead action is good on the grass flats, oyster beds and anywhere crustacean grows. The Flounder action has...

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Ike Carrasquillo Tampa, Florida Reported: 1 month ago

Pass few weeks have been dead, no Charters for two months because of the hurricanes but it has picked up for me and I have several this month and next month. The Sheepshead action is good on the grass flats, oyster beds and anywhere crustacean grows. The Flounder action has been slow for me but the dark muddy waters in tge back country has produced Blackdrum, Mullet and Gar.

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