6 month assignment in Florida

bryguy

Old Mossy Horns
Well my work is taking me to Gainesville Florida from July 10th thru at least the end of the year. So Huntin g season is shot for me, but I will only be about an hour from the gulf and about 2 hours from Tampa. Will be doing some inshore fishing and will also do some middle ground trips as well. Got a few recommendations but any of you guys got any good boats to fish down there? Will be mostly doing bottom fishing for grouper and snappers but like I said will do some inshore stuff. Any of you guys got any advice as far as boats go


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Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I can't help with boats that far down, but your hunting season is far from shot...non-res license are pretty cheap and there are many management areas and/or leases down that way for hogs, deer and turkeys. That part of Florida has some decent deer, lots of hogs and Osceola turkeys, enjoy yourself and take plenty of bug spray and tick repellent.
 

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
lots of places to hunt around Gainesville,,,,,my daughter was there for 5 years,,,,,,
 

FishHunt

Old Mossy Horns
You most likely will get spoiled with the fishing.

^ This is the TRUTH!

6 months? I'd just buy a good sit-on-top kayak and use it for fishing. I can't imagine you'll have enough free time to fish all the places you can take a kayak down there.

<>< Fish
 

bryguy

Old Mossy Horns
My thing is I am not a big inshore guy anymore. I may try to pick it up again when I am down there but I prefer the offshore bottom fishing stuff


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CRC

Old Mossy Horns
There is a season on red snapper in the gulf and inshore you can catch gag grouper and gray mangrove snapper

The thing with the gulf is lack of structure so lots of artificial reefs that get fished hard
 
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bryguy

Old Mossy Horns
There is a season on red snapper in the gulf and inshore you can catch gag grouper and gray mangrove snapper

The thing with the gulf is lack of structure so lots of artificial reefs that get fished hard

Good lord do you constantly have to demonstrate your absolute lack of knowledge? The gulf has tons of hard bottom areas and natural reefs. The west coast of Florida has few weeks or artificial reefs. The vast majority of areas that are fished there are natural ledges and rock piles and reefs.


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TravisLH

Old Mossy Horns
Good lord do you constantly have to demonstrate your absolute lack of knowledge? The gulf has tons of hard bottom areas and natural reefs. The west coast of Florida has few weeks or artificial reefs. The vast majority of areas that are fished there are natural ledges and rock piles and reefs.


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Grouper in those rock piles get huge!!!! Pensacola to Louisiana the big things are artificial reefs and wrecks but your spot on with the West Coast Fl


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CRC

Old Mossy Horns
Good lord do you constantly have to demonstrate your absolute lack of knowledge? The gulf has tons of hard bottom areas and natural reefs. The west coast of Florida has few weeks or artificial reefs. The vast majority of areas that are fished there are natural ledges and rock piles and reefs.


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Sorry but my only experience gulf fishing is from Apalachicola west and artificial reefs and shipwrecks are the big structures there.

I apologize.
 

bryguy

Old Mossy Horns
Middle grounds, pulley ridge, leviathan ledge just to name a few of the well known areas are all natural areas with few wrecks, I'll wager there are more hard bottom ledges and such on the central gulf coast of Florida then just about anywhere else in the lower 48 outside of the keys.


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UncleFester

Old Mossy Horns
Middle grounds, pulley ridge, leviathan ledge just to name a few of the well known areas are all natural areas with few wrecks, I'll wager there are more hard bottom ledges and such on the central gulf coast of Florida then just about anywhere else in the lower 48 outside of the keys.


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I dove on several wrecks down there. LOTS of big fish down there and all sorts of structure. When I did a 6 month stint I became certified, dove and bottom fished at least 3 days a week. As a side note I saw a TON of hogs down there and I mean an absolute TON. They would be on the side of the roads with little if any fear.
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Middle grounds, pulley ridge, leviathan ledge just to name a few of the well known areas are all natural areas with few wrecks, I'll wager there are more hard bottom ledges and such on the central gulf coast of Florida then just about anywhere else in the lower 48 outside of the keys.


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I lived in Pensacola to '66. They used to haul a bunch of ships out of there and use them for training and sink them. You are correct about all the natural cover from central Fla. down.
 
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bryguy

Old Mossy Horns
I lived in Pensacola to '66. They used to haul a bunch of ships out of there and use them for training and sink them. You are correct about all the natural cover from central Fla. down.

The northern gulf from the big bend on over to Louisiana does have lots of wrecks, but the is due to the lack of natural ledges and hard bottom areas in close. West central Florida has hard bottom and ledges in water as shallow as 15 to 20 feet and within a few miles of the beach. The northern gulf to fin hard bottom and stuff are runs of 30 to 40 miles, and even then those areas are scarce. Wreck artificial reefs and oil rigs are the name of the game in the northern gulf where as ledges, hard bottom and rock piles are the name of the game from a little north of Tampa all the way to the keys. I have a couple of boats picked out to try and they are actually bucket list trips for me. So I am very excited about the fishing, just not about being away from the family so much.


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Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I lived and fished on the Gulf Coast most of my younger days and have done my share of shallow and deep water fishing for all kinds of species of saltwater fish in the Gulf. The line of hard bottom is very distinct and starts where the biggest fresh water sources feed into the Gulf, right at the "big bend" area. That part and on down has the "live bottom" and is fished much differently than the northwestern area that I'm from.
We trolled for grouper and snapper above the live bottom and were very successful, something that's almost unheard of in the northwestern part where it's mostly fishing structures that are sporadic and often manmade until you get into the blue water about 50 miles out or so.
Traveling from Gainesville you will have lots of choices, and shallow water fishing will net you some of the same fish that you can catch "bottom fishing" if you target live bottom close in. Fishing close in after a big storm can net you some incredible bottom fishing inshore.
 

Markfromflorida

Eight Pointer
I grew up in Tampa, and know quite a few guides. I worked at TA Mahoney company in Tampa during college; if you get a chance, stop by their shop and check it out. Lots of cool things to see.

Tampa Guides: billy nobles (offshore), Chad manning/mike Anderson/ Ernie Rubio (inshore)
Port st joe- my family is from there and my uncle runs a 55ft charter boat. You can look him up too, lady J charters- Danny tankersly.

I don't know any guides in the big bend area.

There is some party boats out of Hubbard marina; some do 36hr middle ground trips.

There is some amazing inshore fishing down there. Catching a 40in snook will change you life! Some wading spots are available, but a kayak will get you further. Send me a message, and I can email you some spots if interested- too much to post here.
 
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bryguy

Old Mossy Horns
I grew up in Tampa, and know quite a few guides. I worked at TA Mahoney company in Tampa during college; if you get a chance, stop by their shop and check it out. Lots of cool things to see.

Tampa Guides: billy nobles (offshore), Chad manning/mike Anderson/ Ernie Rubio (inshore)
Port st joe- my family is from there and my uncle runs a 55ft charter boat. You can look him up too, lady J charters- Danny tankersly.

I don't know any guides in the big bend area.

There is some party boats out of Hubbard marina; some do 36hr middle ground trips.

There is some amazing inshore fishing down there. Catching a 40in snook will change you life! Some wading spots are available, but a kayak will get you further. Send me a message, and I can email you some spots if interested- too much to post here.

Thanks mark I will definitely take you up on that offer


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