Florida Grouper Fishing

[huntingislife]

Does anybody know of any good charters for grouper fishing in Florida? Probably anywhere on the gulf side. We are thinking of doing that for spring break next year. There will probably only be a couple of us that want to go so it would be good to hook up with a few more people to split the charter cost since most prices are for 6 people. Does anybody know any good ways to do this?

[pikerliker]

Hey huntingislife I was just down to Clearwater beach on the Gulf side and I had booked an outing with Flo Jo. They seemed reasonable. I had to cancel though because of Hurricane Dennis causing big swells out on the water (I didn't want my kids washing overboard!)

If you have time just go down to the Marina and look for charters that are looking for mixed parties. You can turn a 3 to 500 dollar a person outing into a $150-$200 a person outing just by doing that and getting the same fishing experience if you don't mind the mixed company. I know my charter fished for Grouper along with most anything that lives in the Gulf. Hope this helps.

~piker

[huntingislife]

Thanks for the advice. We went to clearwater beach last year for spring break but didnt get the chance to go out fishing. I figured there would be quite a few people that dont have a full boat. Do most of the charters fill up early? Or can you go down there the day before and book one for the next day? Thanks again for the help.

[mpester]

Marinas will setup makeup charters when you do not have a full boat. Find a marina in the area you want to fish and give them a call. Another option would be to take a head boat. These boats are like the launches on Mille Lacs but bigger. They charge per person. They can be crowded but are a lot of fun. Most of the boat fishing I do on the east coast is on head boats. I have fished for giant bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, king mackerel, stripers, snappers and bottom fish from head boats. I like the cost and atmosphere on the head boats.

[nluchau]

Have you fished out of Naples before? We took a charted just back in the bay (the wifes gets sea sickness) so we didn't do the deep sea thing. We had fun catching grouper and sheepshead. check it out

http://www.tin-city.com/explore.htm