Spring 2023

What a start we have had to our 2023 fishing season! We have been experiencing some phenomenal inshore fishing for snook, redfish, and trout. Tarpon, Cobia, Kingfish, Tripletail and the rest of our pelagic targets are about to be moving into our bay in full force.  If you are looking for table fare our sheepshead fishing is about to be on fire as well. If the last few weeks are any indicator of how our upcoming spring season will unfold, its going to be a great one! Our brand new Sabalo 27 boat will be the perfect platform to fish the west coast of Florida Read More

2021 is here and the fishing outlook is spectacular!

Thank the Lord 2021 is here and the fishing should be great as we enter the first few months of the new year.  The next few months will hold some of the best inshore action of the year for snook, redfish, and trout.  Tarpon will begin to move into the bay in preparation for the big migration and spawning.  Kingfish will move into our region on their spring run and almost everything that we catch throughout the year could be an option on a  spring fishing trip.  We had some great success tournament fishing in 2020.   We only fished 3 tournaments in 2020, but were blessed to come out on top and win 2 of 3.  Spring is also a great time for team building and corporate fishing events and we have several packages available for groups from 2 to 200.    Call us today to book your spring fishing trip today!

Captain Matt Santiago

 

The New Sabalo 27

As many of you know I switched boat brands after being with my old boat company for 12 years and tons of people have been asking me for a review of the new Sabalo 27. I resisted the urge right away as I felt it was important to really use the boat and get to know it before forming my opinion. You can’t judge a book by its cover, right? Well I have had the boat for about 5 months now and feel confident I know all I need to know about this boat and the company who builds it.

I decided about 2 years ago I was ready to make a move away from my current boat and had a long list of must haves for my next one. Here are some of my must haves when I was in the market for a new boat.

It needed to:
Run AND float in less than 12 inches of water.
Be roomy enough to fish 4 to 6 people comfortably.
Be very stable at rest and while running.
Run at least 50 mph on a single outboard and get 3 MPG at cruise.
Ride exceptionally well in the bay and run good enough to comfortably fish offshore in 2 to 3 ft. chop.
Be built solid to last a lifetime.
Have dual huge livewells with dedicated brass bottom pumps.
Have a completely self-bailing cockpit.
Have easy access to all electronics and pumps.

I wanted a company I could work with in the design and build process to have a boat set up to fish exactly the way I do. After narrowing it down to only 2 or 3 potential brands I decided on the Sabalo 27 built by Bonefish Boatworks.

I must say that I got all that and more in the Sabalo 27. It is a true fishing machine, with yacht quality fit and finish. It will run where most 22 ft. bay boats can’t go and will give you a comfortable ride when most other boats in its class have you calling your chiropractor the next day. I honestly could not be happier with the boat. It has exceeded many of my expectations and Ron Cook and the crew at Bonefish boats stand behind their product no questions asked. They utilize only the finest materials, vacuum infusion, bulletproof construction and assemble with the highest quality hardware in the industry. I have owned or fished extensively on every custom bay boat built on the west coast and many of the popular mass-produced boats in its class. The Sabalo 27 impresses me daily and I always look forward to being on it with confidence knowing it will always do what I need it to.

Bottom line is the Sabalo 27 is special and if you are in the market for a super versatile inshore fishing machine you need to take a very close look at the Sabalo 27. If you have questions about my boat, I would love to share my experiences with you and answer any questions you might have.

Captain Matt Santiago

Fishing Trip Outlook for Tampa Bay Fishing in Spring 2020

What a start to our 2020 fishing season!  We have been experiencing some phenomenal inshore fishing for snook, redfish, and trout.  There has also been a large number of cobia wintering in our bay this year which bodes well for our upcoming cobia season.   Over the last few weeks we have had an incredible snook bite and have enjoyed catching some big jack crevalle and redfish.  If you are looking for table fare our sheepshead fishing is about to be on fire as well.  If the last few weeks are any indicator of how our upcoming spring season will unfold, its going to be a great one!  Call us today at 813-205-2327 to book your spring fishing trip. 

 

Fall Fishing!

Fall is definitely in the air.  The mornings are noticeably cooler and the fishing is improving every day.  Fortunately for Tampa Bay the red tide that devastated much of Florida’s west coast never got to us.  The fishing forecast for the next few months is nothing short of awesome.  We are starting to see some of our best snook and redfish fishing as well as a steady tarpon bite for smaller residential tarpon.   The kingfish are about to make their fall migration into our area as well.  It is one of the few times of the year that  you have a chance to catch virtually all species that call the west coast home!  The bay is alive with bait and I for one am getting very excited about what the next few months has in store.

If you want to get in on the awesome action now is the time to book your fish catching adventure!

Here are just a few of our more memorable catches from the last two months.

Tight Lines!

Captain Matt Santiago
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Lovin’ the Live Bait

We west coasters are so blessed to have live baits available to us throughout the year.   I have fished all over the United States,  most of the Caribbean, and some of central America and one thing I have learned is how fortunate we are to have live bait available to us year round.  I consider the west coast of Florida a true bait mecca.   With more than a dozen highly productive bait species available virtually year round, we are living in a live bait fisherman’s paradise. Read More

Wintertime Fishing off the Flats – Fishing Guide Ruskin

As water temps drop, moving off the flats may be all you need to do to keep your rods bent all day.It’s no secret that the fish that roam Tampa Bay’s flats don’t like cold water.   Lower water temps mean fish are more lethargic, eat less, and move less.  Water temperatures on the clean shallow flats of Tampa Bay fluctuate a lot throughout the day.  As the sun sets water temps in shallow water can drop drastically and take several hours of sunlight to start warming back up.   Conversely, water temperatures in deeper water stay much more constant.  Read More

Spring is in the air!

Our recent fishing charters on Tampa Bay have been fair to excellent over the last month and things are really about to heat up.  We have been fishing from the Skyway Bridge and Fort DeSoto all the way up in the bay to the Gandy Bridge. The redfish and trout fishing have been good, but it’s the snook action that has really stolen the stage lately. We have caught many snook over 30 inches lately, and lost some even bigger ones to the bushes and docks.

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