Clearwater Florida in Mid February

[waterwolff]

Never been there and I am totally clueles. So what can one expect to catch either chartering which we will be doing one day or from shore since we will be in at a beach side place.

MR

[Far-I]

I fished around there in early may, and remember researching some of the fish available and when, but dont remember much. I know that a tackle shop will give u a guide with pictures of fish and when they are prevelant. Certain times of year you can catch tarpon close to shore,and that would be a blast! People shark fish from shore too.

I did pretty good. I caught a lot of ladyfish which were a blast on my lighter tackle, reminded me of a good smallmouth battle.

caught a small kind of sea bass off the clearwater pier, and caught a couple of flounder and a stingray (!) off of another pier inside downtown clearwater. The stingray pulled hard forever and i had to walk my line down the pier, around a bunch of posts, up to the shore where i got it up shallow. Then my awesome wife threw her towel over its stinger and held it down while i undid the jig (Northland walleye jigs with both real and plastic shrimp caught alot of fish) and then i had to push it back out to sea with the butt of my rod.

i also caught a sheepshead which is different than the kind up here, and targeted mackrel some but didnt get any, those are available from shore though, and these old Cuban guys fished them with baitfish and wire leaders.

My highlight was a 29 inch redfish from shore. that thing was so much fun to catch it still makes me smile.

I used the jigs with shrimp and jigged off piers or casted and walked them from shore. I also caught my own baitfish, which is really fun, and fished with those. I learned to net baitfish from the Cubans, but was doing really well using a Sabiki rig that you buy for $1.50 at the baitshop. Real easy to use, if you never have before.

Good Luck, sorry for the long reply but as I wrote I reminised how much fun I had while there, and would love to go back again soon!

By the way Crabbie Bills in Indian Rocks Beach is great food for a reasonable price, and there is a real fun wildlife rescue aquarium in Clearwater that features a dolphin with a prothsetic tail.

[BartmanMN]

Fishing the surf you may catch a Jack Cervalle or possibly whiting. You could walk the beach looking for shadows in the water to target, which can be Snook. If you want free bait, look to where the surf pulls back into the ocean and dig your hands in. You can catch sand flees and these work great for bait. I caught a mess of Cervalle and Whiting doing this.

If you are adventurous and feel like fishing you can throw a line into any holding pond around apartments or businesses as most hold Bass, Snook, and so even have small tarpon.

[mainbutter]

Personally in early spring, I like to use semi-heavy tackle and throw a big chunk of cut bait on a ~12/0 or so sized circle hook with a sinker 2 feet or so up, and walk out as far as I can in the surf and lob the bait a bit further, walk back to shore (feeding out line), and place the rod in a rod holder.

I can sleep, read, or just bask in the sun. Every now and then you catch something fun. I think I could increase my catch rates/size by doing things a bit differently, but it wouldn't be as relaxing. Most of what I catch doing this is small sharks ~3-15lbs (fun AND delicious!) and snook. Other times of the year you would stand just as good a chance at getting redfish and tarpon. Cutbait is my #1 choice for lazy fishing in the ocean, and you'll never know what you're going to get.

I generally use ladyfish as fresh as I can get it. As stated above, they're super fun on light tackle. They really are just mini-tarpon, and I specifically target them sometimes. If you've found 'em, you can catch dozens upon dozens upon dozens, and they are an absolute blast to fish for.

[elkhuntingfan]

I used three c's charter out of Clearwater a couple years ago. We had several people on the dock tell us they were very good. We caught a bunch of amber jacks. They are about 20-30 lbs, and they fight really well. We had to quit fishing for those because our arms were aching. We also caught some grouper and a bunch of misc. stuff. It was a great day. Their prices were pretty reasonable as well.

[popriveter]

The one time I fished out of clearwater (10 years ago?), I went out on a boat that fit bout 30 people. We all paid about $20 per person and bottom fished off the side of the boat. They'd drive for about 20 minutes, anchor on a hump, and give the go-ahead. We'd all scramble to drop lines down. My father, sister and I all caught a bunch of grunts, some snappers, puffers and crabs. The lady next to us caught and octopus. The 2 guys who knew what they were doing staked out the spot nearest the anchor and caught groupers. I talked with them afterward and they said it wasn't luck- the transducer is next to the anchor point and they set up at the top of the hump, thus, closer to the transducer=closer to the groupers.

It was a blast. I've been looking for a similar experience every time I travel to a coast, but I haven't found another large party boat like this. Usually, I have to decide whether to pay $400 for hit or miss trolling so I pier fish and shore fish.

The pictures are from a trip to fort myers. Ladyfish, Gaftopsail Catfish and Stingray.

[blakeb]

them cats look cool