Last weekend my friend Andrew and I took off from the Tampa Harbor Marina in search of some big 40# black drum that I had heard were being caught around some of the local bridges here in Tampa Bay. We took my little Action Craft 18' away from the THM around sunset, and set off in search of fish.
After catching a few hand-sized pinfish, and with a cooler already full of blue crabs, we anchored up underneath the bridge so that the current would take our bait back toward the bridge pilings. Once we got set, we put out a chum block, put a few large blue crab on the bottom with a 2oz lead, and started fishing the pilings for smaller snapper or pompano while we waited for the big rods to go off.
About 10 minutes in I heard a few slow clicks, then the telltale *ZZZZZZZZZZZZ* that we all know and love. I picked up the rod and assumed it was one of the big black drum we had been after. It was dark, so as the fish came to the surface I still wasn't sure what it was, but as we got it closer to the boat I realized it was one of the biggest redfish I had ever seen!
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| 40" RedFish; Rob Buscaino Tampa, FL |
At 40" it was the biggest red I had ever caught, and definitely a "bucket list" fish for me. We put another blue crab down and shortly after, Andrew hooked up and landed a 40" of his own!
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| 40" RedFish; Andrew Watson Tampa, FL |
We fished for about 5 hours, hooked 8 more monster reds, and landed 5 total. Fish measured from 33" to 40", with two 40" being caught back-to-back. Definitely one of the best nights fishing I've had in Tampa Bay, and the biggest redfish I had caught anywhere! Here are two of the others at 33" and 37" respectively:
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| RedFish; Andrew Watson Tampa, FL |
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| RedFish; Rob Buscaino Tampa, FL |
If you're looking to chase some inshore monsters of your own, check out a few of my inshore or near-shore fishing boat listings:
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| 2007 Cobia 211 Bay; Tampa,FL Click Here for Listing! |
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| 2004 Action Craft 1802; Tampa, FL Click Here for Listing! |
