Offshore advice needed.

[jsl]

Hi all,

I'll be in the St. Pete's area between 5/29-6/4 and I'm interested in doing some offshore fishing. What's the party boat scene like out there and what type of trips do you guys recommend for someone who wants to target snapper and grouper? I noticed that there are 10 hour,12 hour, and overnight trips. Do any of you guys have good experiences with such trips and what boats/landings do you prefer? I have been to the Tampa area twice and absolutely love the it!! I fished the Skyway Pier most of the time and even got to do some skinny water fishing with a fellow forum member which AWSOME! I'm flying in from California and will be bringing my own gear. I have two 40lb set ups, will that be adequate or should I beef em up? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Scott

[inshorebasher]

I've been on only a couple out in the gulf and i'm going to say that The Viking Fleet out of Tarpon springs is one of the best! As for my 2nd one it was the Queen Fleet which was an absolute grunt wagon with the occasional gag here and there.

But since i've got hooked into fishing with the James Gang out of Blind Pass Marina 727-954-5901 fishing with Tommy and friends I don't know if i'll ever go on another party boat aside from a forum meet and greet or a super special deal that i can't pass up. Hope u find this info helpful.

[jsl]

Inshorebasher,

Thanks a lot, I heard some good things on other boards regarding Viking Fleet as well. Much appreciated!!

Scott

[Tommy]

jsl, one word on the Viking Fleet "GRUNTS" and a lot of them unless your planning the long overnight trips.

[eaglesfanguy]

BUT........... Grunts are mighty good eatin!!! They aint no grouper size,but they "in my opinion" are better eating.

[douglasb]

Gotta agree.... We catch a lotta Grunts when we go out, but man they make some good eatin'. Folks complain about catchin' them... I welcome it. Besides, there's usually some big ole grouper mixed in with those grunts. Problem with most charter boats, they don't let ya use the bait you wanna use, or the size you wanna use. You get a piece of cut squid, you'll catch a grunt or small grouper... Big bait almost always means big fish. Almost always.

[Tommy]

Lol, I can tell ya a funny about Capn Jessie, he had a lawyer feller who paid for a full day. They made several stops and picked up several big grouper and then this huge Grunt came over the rail. Jessie makes the statement that its time to move because once the grunts get stirred there nothing but them coming over the rail. The lawyer tells him he loves the fish and he'd drop a dollar a fish if they could stay. Jessie ended up cleaning grunts till close to 11pm that day with a $200 grunt pocket.

And hey I like em too, we always called them the Brem of the sea

[eaglesfanguy]

Hate cleaning the mess of em.. But got damn there tastey lil buggers

[installman]

I wasn't going to post about this, but since the subject has turned to grunts here goes.
I went out on the double eagle out of clearwater last friday with my daughter. There were only 12 people on the boat. We kept 40 grunts and probably threw back at least as many as we caught. We both hooked and lost several large fish
( apparently 50lb braid isn't enough for the big guys). At the last 2 stops I caught and released grouper 16-20" non stop, but couldn't manage to land a keeper. There were at least 10 keeper grouper caught. 4 of which were 10-15 lbs. I have been on this boat several times and have never been disappointed in the fishing.
Good luck with your trip.
Stan