AR195 owner in Tampa Bay...newbie questions

[EmeryZ28]

Greetings,

I grew up in New England, taking many charter boat fishing trips out of NH going for blues, mackerel, striper, cod, bass etc. I loved it.

I have been in Tampa for 9 years, have done some shoreline fishing nothing major. I have an AR195 as I am more of a recreational boater than a fish guy, but a friend and I would love to try and head out on the bay or the gulf and try to catch some fish that would be good to grill up. So a few questions...

Is it even possible to fish off the back swim deck of an SX/AR or is it going to be a hassle? I was looking at some rod holders for the wake tower.

What type of fish is good to go for in the gulf waters, not very far off the coast?

Any other tips and recommendations are appreciated. Not looking to spend a fortune. thanks!

 

[Julian]

We have fished off the back of our SX and AR with no issues....

There are Tampa members on here...trying pinging them after looking them up on the map....just type the @ and their name....like

@Cobra Jet Steering LLC Not sure if he fishes much....but he might know.....

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Many years ago I would take my 19 foot boat out in the gulf to the end of the Egmont channel to fish for grouper or lemon sharks grunts black sea bass etc In those days we used a loran not a gps, but I had spots that always paid off and I liked to drift fish looking for more spots.
I did this every week year after year. One day I was drifting in some seriously deep water for that size boat I believe it was about 120 or maybe a bit more.
My friend and I noticed a serious storm brewing out away from us I was watching it closely as our storms come up fast and hard I only had 200 feet of anchor rope but we need 300 plus in a storm in that depth of water .
I happened to look at the compass and realized that the storm was not out past us but between us and land, I had been spinning around while drifting and never realized it.
This storm was a very nasty one. I told my friend that if we stayed put we may get lucky and the storm would pass us by , however if it hit us we did not have enough rope to anchor and ride it out , my boat was really not a deep water hull and I was concerned that my engine may get swamped in a bad storm , I had a 140 sea drive and it was easily swamped in storms from previous experiences close to shore.
So we decided to head into the storm figuring if the engine went dead we would be in about 65 feet of water and I could anchor up in that.
We ended up fighting that storm for an hour+ , it was the first time I ever put on a life jacket and when I finally came out of the storm my loran had me right on course.
By the time I made it back to the ramp I ran dry of fuel and realized that if I had stayed in the storm any longer I would not have made it back. I had duel saddle tanks and I never used more than 1/3 of my fuel going out so I had twice the fuel for any problems during the return.
The end result was I never went back out in the gulf to fish, I located intercostal water where the bass and grunts are, the gag grouper are and the sharks hang out even the mackerel . Way less fuel consumption and not a big deal if you get in a really bad storm so my advice is forgetaboutit. fish under the skyway or at the north end of Egmont island. Don't fish up toward Tampa the fish are so polluted they all have white worms in the meat.

 

[EmeryZ28]

thanks for the responses and cautionary tale!


I was thinking of going out near the skyway, or maybe a few miles out from Three Rooker, nothing major for sure

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

That isn't an issue like I said skyway is ok but don't sit just below the bridge as people throw things out the windows of their cars like dirty diapers and empty beer cans, plus people jump off the bridge I think one just did today actually. I was fishing under the bridge one night with my brother when someone jumped off the bridge. I saw him with a flashlight at the top just before he jumped but I never knew he jumped until the next day. it is really dark and noisy under that bridge at night.

 

[Hannibal]

I use this site to watch wave forecasts.

http://cdip.ucsd.edu/?nav=historic&sub=data&stn=144&stream=p1

There are a few inshore reefs along the coast of Pinellas in 25~ft of water. Right now it's a little hot for grouper near shore but no harm in dropping a shimp, piece of squid or pinfish near shore and see what happens. I plan on easing on out to a couple of 4-6 mile reefs sometime in the near future just to see what happens. If I don't catch anything, I'll enjoy the ride. I have a Garmin 741sx chart plotter/fish finder, VHF radio and compass. Also important, my 190FSH has a head (bucket) and a changing room to put it in. What do you guys and girls use in the 190 cruisers? I'll take a leak in a bottle and rinse it out. My bride goes with a lot and she would much rather I have an sx190 outfitted for casual fishing, lounging with a drink (can't disagree there), and lower profile for the carport at home. But no head.
I can fish from the swim platform as long as I can see the boat under me. If I stand at the very back looking out and can't see the boat, I can't balance myself without the visual reference. Sitting back there works fine. Nothing wrong with fishing from the bow either. Stretch out and get comfortable!
Check this site out for some coordinates.

http://www.pinellascounty.org/reef/pdf/Reefbroch4.pdf

 

[mraz72]

@Cobra Jet Steering LLC

Is the bridge high, are they killing themselves or diving for fun?

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

http://www.skywaybridge.com/2017.htm

 

[mraz72]

sad, I had a friend in HS do the same

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

The worst was the 1980 summit venture collision and destruction of the bridge, I was on duty that day . http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/the-skyway-tragedy-30-years-later-as-recalled-by-a-harbor-pilot-on-the/1093384

 

[EmeryZ28]

is that Mahi? would love to catch some of those, but don't know the first thing about what to use for bait and such.

 

[JDinfla]

Biggest difference to us between the gulf and Atlantic is how far out you have to go to get in deep water. If its windy both are too rough for the fsh. Lots of good spots by the Skyway. This was on the Atlantic earlier today, very nice.

 

[DiverScott]

Caught this 32” gag grouper at the end of December trolling 12 miles off of Clearwater Beach, in 35 feet of water. Absolutely delicious.