Captain Nick's Charter Fishing Blog

Tarpon on fly in Tampa Bay from Bryon Chamberlin on Vimeo.

Fly fishing Tampa Bay has been great the past few weeks! The unseasonably warm weather down here makes Florida the place to be for fishing in February. Daytime temps are in the high 70’s/ low 80’s. The sightfishing has been good around the bay. We are having plenty of shots at redfish and some big trout on the shallow water flats. Small muddler style flies with some gold flash have been working well on the redfish. I’ve been fishing many spring locations with the warm weather. Looking forward to an early spring and a great tarpon season!

Thanks
Capt Nick
www.shallowwaterflyfishing.com

Fly fishing Sarasota to Tampa has been great the past few weeks! Fly fishing redfish is really picking up. On my recent trips we have had plenty of shots at, and caught, a good amount of tailing and cruising redfish. I have also been seeing and catching some nice trout in shallow water. Even the snook are making a good showing on the flats, which is nice to see. One of my anglers even managed to catch a superslam on fly, sight fishing a redfish, snook, trout, and sheepshead. Right now there is chill in the air and some negative low tides. I favor those for fly fishing redfish. The next few weeks should bring us some great fishing days here in the Bay area. I will also start taking a few trips north of the Bay area. The sightfishing can be great on the low tides. Often we can fly fish fat and hungry redfish with out another boat in sight. Feel fee to shoot me an email for some good sight fishing dates. Get out there and wet a line!

Capt Nick
www.shallowwaterflyfishing.com

Fly fishing Tampa has been great the past few weeks. It finally feels like fall. Migratory fish have been feeding heavily on bait schools up and down the coast. We’ve had some great fly fishing action on the Little tunny and mackerel with a few poons mixed in. The sight fishing for reds in skinny water is picking up. This time of year brings clear skies and shallow morning tides allowing for terrific conditions for fly fishing redfish. Get out there and enjoy this beautiful fall weather!

Capt Nick
www.shallowwaterflyfishing.com

Fly fishing the Tampa Bay area has been great this summer! I spent most of the season chasing big tarpon on fly. I already cant wait for next summer! I am gearing up towards the fall season and a nice cool down in the weather. Fall brings some migratory critters like cobia and false albicore to our area. Both species are fun to target with a fly. Redfish and sea trout will become more frequent targets for sight fishing. Often this time of year the tides let us fly fish for “tailing” redfish. Tarpon become few and far between. But if you put some time in you can be rewarded with some of the most kick ass tarpon on fly action you’ll find. Thanks

Capt Nick
www.shallowwaterflyfishing.com

August poons

Tarpon season has been great so far!! The poon fishing will continue for the next few months. There is really nothing like it! get out there and wet a line!

Capt Nick
www.shallowwaterflyfishing.com

Warm weather brings big fishes. Poon season is just around the corner but a few fish are showing. looks like its going to be a great season! Cobia are here and there. Snook and reds are around as well to sight fish for along the mangroves. The sea trout are always willing and ready to take a fly. Get out there and wet a line!!

Capt Nick
www.shallowwaterflyfishing.com

Water Temps are on the rise! Fly fishing for redfish has been great the past few weeks. It should continue to get better as we move into spring. The fish that is really on my mind with this warmer weather is tarpon! It wont be long before tarpon season is here and lots of poons are swimming the flats and beaches. Fly fishing for tarpon is one of the most addicting and exciting types of fishing I know. Feel free to call or email me about fishing this years season.

Capt Nick

Fly fishing the Tampa Bay area has been great around the holiday. Fishing around the bad weather we have been catching some nice redfish. All the fish have been sight fished over clear sandy bottom. We have also been spanking quality size trout from 17-22 inches working the deeper channels and flats on chartreuse clouser flies. The trout have been concentrated and once you find a few in an area you find plenty more. A few trips this week once we found a hole they were in we caught trout on fly on almost every cast. I am looking forward to more blue sky days to get out there and fly fish for reds. et out there and wet a line! Happy New Year!!

Capt Nick

Fly fishing the gulf coast around St. Pete and in Tampa Bay has anglers catching a wide variety of fish. The Temps are cooling down and we are looking forward to some great fishing the next few months. Right now we have good fishing for false albicore and Mackerel blitzing in the bay and on the beaches. There has been some sightfishing for cobia on the shallow sand bars along our coast. Many of the fish are sighted right behind the big rays and sharks. Inshore the fly fishing for redfish is starting to take off. It will just get better as the tides keep getting lower. Get out and we a line!

Capt Nick
www.shallowwaterflyfishing.com

Fly Fishing Tampa and St Pete is great right now! The weather is almost looking like fall. The daily obsession with tarpon is finally slowing down. There are still a few fish here and there but it’s very inconsistent. I have switched gears and I’m having good success with trout, Mackerel, and tailing redfish during the day. Evening trips are still a great option. Getting out after the sun goes down had fly anglers catching redfish, snook, a few tarpon, and all the trout you would want the past few weeks. I defiantly notice the effects of the snook kill while Night fishing. Lets hope they keep the season closed for a while to let the population rebound. Other than that its a great time to be a fly fishermen in Tampa Bay! Hope everyone can get out and wet a line.

Capt Nick
www.shallowwaterflyfishing.com

Tarpon fly fishing Tampa and Sarasota is in full swing! Lots of fish around and we are getting consistent hook-ups on fly. Thanks to all who have fished with me so far this tarpon season. Expect the fly fishing to be good into August. So there’s still 2 months left to get out and get your tarpon fly fishing fix. There is no Oil in sight and the beaches are crystal clear! Hope everyone can get out there and wet a line.

Capt Nick
www.shallowwaterflyfishing.com

Spring is finally here! I have retired my Jacket for a while and its about time. The fishing for redfish was great in the Upper part of the Bay, but it has tapered off. The water clarity isn’t great and the fish have move on. The low tides that offer great sight fishing reds are getting fewer and fewer with each moon phase. The Fort Desoto area has a good amount of quality reds but have proven tough on a fly.

Trout and Spanish Mackerel have been providing great action for fly rod anglers. Fishing the deeper drop offs and grass edges with chart. clousers has been effective. Getting out early for Black Drum let a few anglers get some 40 + pound fish on fly. But it has seemed to turn into Boca Grande.

Had a good time fishing the #3 Redfly tournament last Saturday. Capt. Bryon Chamberlin and I tried to defend last years win but it was tough fishing. Joe Welbourn and John Wilson took home 1st place honors and big fish with a 19.25 inch red. Sam Root and Tom Tylisz took second with a 16 inch red. Great time and great friends……RedFly #4 will happen in October.

Really the only thing on my mind right now is Tarpon! I am looking forward to another great season fly fishing for tarpon. The water temps are on the rise and fish are starting to show on the local bridges. The fishing will be in full swing before you know it! We’ve already caught a few on fly in some skinny water!

Capt Nick
www.shallowwaterflyfishing.com

Fishing Tampa Bay is getting better and better since the extreme cold weather and fish kill in January. The redfish and trout bite is improving each week as we get closer to spring. If you can get out on the water between the hectic weather we’ve been having, there are plenty of fish around.

There is a good amount of redfish in the Bay right now. We’ve been staying on fish and getting plenty of shots on each trip. There are a few big schools and plenty of singles and small groups of reds spread out over the clear sandy flats inside the bay. A well placed fly will often get a follow or a bite. Sometimes the reds seem to follow the fly for 3-5 feet before eating it or spooking. There is a lot of small baitfish around the reds and a small bait fish fly will work well. I’m having good success with a small crab pattern as well.

Spring is just around the corner. Hopefully the cold weather fronts will give us a break!
I have seen a few snook around the other day as well as couple black drum. A good sign for warmer fishing days to come. The fish that’s always on my mind is tarpon. Tarpon fishing is on the horizon and I’ve been getting my gear ready and tying flies for the upcoming season during the nasty weather days.
Hope everyone can get out there and wet a line!

Capt Nick
www.shallowwaterflyfishing.com

Hope everyone is off to a great start to the New Year! The fishing in Tampa Bay and surrounding areas has been good. If you can brave the cold and get out on the water! Its been cold. As I type this, it is actually snowing in parts of North Florida! I am grateful I dont live anywhere North of the state of Florida. At least we can still get out on the skiff and catch fish despite the cold conditions.

Even in the cold the fly fishing for redfish continues to be awesome. For us fly anglers the cold has helped the redfishing. The fish get super shallow to soak up the sun. Most fish have been caught in a foot or less of water. Sometimes the redfish get so shallow their backs and tails are exposed. We’ve been having some great days on the water sight fishing with a fly. The large schools of fish continue to hang around the shallow sand flats of Tampa Bay.

Seatrout are now in season, not that I plan on keeping any. We’ve been finding good numbers of trout over shallow rock and sand bottom. They also seek the shallows during sunny late mornings and afternoons. Most of the fish have been fat and healthy looking.

I haven’t seen too many dead fish as a result of the cold. Mostly dead catfish on the surface. We’ve scene some large snook in shallow water the last few weeks, but they don’t seem interested in eating. Luckily I haven’t seen any snook kills in the areas I’ve been fishing.

Thanks to everyone who fished with me during the fall season! When the sun was out we had some killer days fishing for redfish. The calm and cloudy days brought tailing conditions. A few cloudy day trips I thought were going to be tough days on the water. But we ended up getting onto large schools of reds tailing in a foot of water. Seeing all those tails defiantly took out minds off the chilly conditions. Anywhere from 1-10 reds were caught on fly each trip, we averaged about 3 fish. Most trips anglers had plenty of “shots” on fish.

We had a few good trips of snook fishing, both day and night during the milder weather. My good friend and fellow angler Greg hooked a particularly large and oversized snook one afternoon. The fish was laid up in shallow water and inhaled his little black fly. The fish never stopped as it took all but a few wraps of backing off his reel. Rather than loose his fly line, he palmed the spool and the fish broke off.

What to expect in the next few months??? The main attraction will continue to be redfish. Big schools and large single fish in skinny water will hang around for fly anglers to enjoy. The fishing a little North of Tampa will continue to produce quality redfish to sight cast to as well. Those monster snook will show themselves during any period of warm conditions. March is a good month to target large snook with a fly. The fishing around the powerplants will be good for snook and a wide range of other species. Tossing clousers on sink lines can produce a smorgasbord of fish. Big Black Drum are a possibility as well.

Tarpon season is just around the corner! Even this time of year tarpon are always on my mind. March can produce early season fish for fly anglers. I’m currently booking days for the 2010 season beginning the last week in April through July. August had good numbers of fish last year as well. May and June are prime months to fly fish for poons. Please feel free to call or email me for the best available dates.

Thanks and I hope everyone can get out and wet a line!

Capt. Nick Angelo
813-230-8473
www.shallowwaterflyfishing.com