Snapper and grouper are biting in Tampa Bay. You just have to know what they want
Most anglers have it ingrained that to catch big mangrove snapper and gag grouper you’ve got to run offshore. Some spend their entire lives chasing the bottom dwellers around and rarely catch limits of the often picky eaters for the dinner table.
Meanwhile Captain John Gunter is catching both, and plenty of them, in waters many people drive over every day.
“I’m usually fishing on the east side of the Skyway,” the Palmetto based captain said. “The edge of the shipping channel is loaded with fish. I fish around the Skyway, the channel and some stuff in the middle of the bay looking for outcroppings of structure and bait. If the bait is there, the snapper are there.”
In recent weeks Gunter has been putting a tear on mangrove snapper in Tampa Bay. He’s been able to dial in not just numbers, but also big fish, catching some over 20 inches. That’s a big one whether you’re fishing in 20 feet or 200 feet. The secret has been his ability to key in on a given day to what the snapper are wanting.
“One day they wanted jig heads and pinfish and we got our limit in 30 minutes. The next day they would only eat a chicken rig and whitebait and wouldn’t touch the jig heads. When we figured that out we got the limit in 20 minutes, one fish after the other. Then it was back to jig heads and pinfish. It seems they get picky and we figure it out each day.”
This past Tuesday, Gunter ran into big fish once again. Fishing the edge of the Port Manatee shipping channel gag grouper and a bull shark wrecked havoc on the mangrove snapper bite, but that didn’t stop his crew from filling the cooler.
“We got set up around 8:45 and had our limit by 9:30 in the morning of big fish. That day we had an eight or nine foot long bull shark around the fish so it turned them off for a little bit, but they fired back up. The snapper were eating small pinfish on 1/2-ounce and 3/4-ounce jig heads and 20-pound leader,” Gunter explained.
“When you start letting out that jig head the snapper will hit on the drop and the line will start peeling. Flip that bail and you’re on. There’s nothing better than that.”
While a few of the snapper are eaten by dolphins, the biggest stealer of tackle has been gag grouper that sit in the same structure the snapper dwell in. Dropping bigger pinfish leads to the famed grouper tug of war that often results in a rocked up fish.
“There are a lot of big fish we can’t stop. Tuesday we got two at 23.75-inches and some 22 and 21-inch grouper. But there were about 20 of them we couldn’t stop. That was fishing some rubble in about 17-feet. They sit right in the structure and I’ve tried sitting up in front and chumming them out but they don’t want to leave it.”
Gunter’s success has kept him busy with clients who head home with coolers full of fish without leaving the bay. Over the next few months he says the snapper will stay good and the gag grouper fishing will only get better.
“The grouper in the bay are mostly resident fish right now. When the water drops into the high 70’s well get a push of breeding fish and that’s when it gets really good. That should last well into November.”
Capt. John Gunter can be reached at 863-838-5096 for those looking to get fish dinners and have a good time doing it.