Tampa Bay Fishing Guide for Snook, Redfish and Tarpon.

Welcome to Tampa Bay, Florida, home of some the best light tackle fishing in the world! Your fishing guide, Capt. Chris Haught, is a native of the Tampa Bay area and has been fishing these waters all of his life. Making a memorable fishing Tampa Bay charter expedition is Capt. Chris's specialty.

What's your dream day on the water? Is it casting to and hooking a giant 100lb. + tarpon, or is it watching a big snook blast a live bait out of the water under the mangroves? Or, maybe stalking redfish in the gin clear flats of the gulf or even plugging the flats with prop baits and poppers for large gator trout. Or, possibly slipping over the side of the boat and wading to any of these species in an attempt to sneak up and hook one while being ultra-close! Or, the ultimate way to beat the heat and book a night trip in the search of heavily feeding snook during the spawn or bridge tarpon at night.

We fish from the beautiful waters of Tarpon Springs, Clearwater, St. Petersburg and Bradenton.

Snook are one of the most sought after gamefish in Florida. The Snook is known for its acrobatic leaps and long runs and the ability to make your knees knock while anticipating a strike! Snook habitat ranges from beaches to passes, docks, mangroves, potholes, seawalls, jetties and many more. Most of our charters are centered around catching Snook in natural setting such as the mangroves and beaches. Wading is an option and is one of the best ways to obtain greater numbers of quality fish.

The baitfish used are scaled sardines, pinfish, and large threadfins. Grunts are used for the really large trophy fish! Plugs and jigs can also be used if preferred. Spring through Fall is an excellent time to try your hand at these exciting gamefish. Capt. Chris is a specialist at live bait chumming for these gamesters for great numbers of fish. Night fishing is always a productive way to catch Snook since they are nocturnal and prowl the shadows of dock lights in search of an easy meal. It is also a good way for anglers to stay out of the heat.

Redfish are the bruisers of the flats. They have unbelievable stamina and the ability to put up a tremendous fight! They inhabit very shallow grass flats that can cause the phenomenon known as "Tailing Reds". Many times when feeding, Redfish will root in the grass with their head down leaving their tail sticking out of the water. It is an angler's dream to come across a school of tailing.Redfish are found in many of the same locations as Snook and Trout. However, we also search for giant Redfish a couple miles off the beaches. The average fish caught here weighs around 20 to 45 pounds! Wading is also a great opportunity to catch Redfish since they spook easily. Live chumming is also implemented using scaled sardines and shrimp bits. We target Redfish on our charters year round.

Now we're talking about a serious fish! Tarpon are capable of peeling all the line off a spool in a very short time! Hooking a Tarpon is like casting a plug onto a freeway - Hold on! Tarpon are very acrobatic and capable of jumping out of the water 10 feet into the air! The thrill of watching a tarpon take a bait and then battling this awesome gamefish for 30 minutes to 2 hours can leave memories that last a lifetime. The Tarpon we catch on our charters vary between 70-175lbs!!! We target these magnificent fish at bridges and off the beaches for the large concentrations of fish. The baits of choice are threadfins, pinfish, and crabs. We use tackle ranging from 20lb for the beaches to 60lb at the bridges. We typically fish for Tarpon between May and September.

Capt. Chris Haught is a Florida native, born and raised in the Tampa Bay, Florida area fishing these waters as a boy in search of the same species he now guides others to. Capt. Chris is very knowledgeable of his home waters and knows the surroundings and conditions it takes to make a fantastic Florida charter fishing adventure.

As a licensed and insured guide, safe boating habits are practiced at all times.

For the fishing adventure of a lifetime Capt. Chris will customize the trip to your needs just complete the form below (call or email is fine also) for information regarding Tampa Bay, Florida fishing charters. If you are on a business trip or don't have a fishing partner please contact Capt. Chris for special single angler rates. We'll look forward to hearing from you!!

Bait, tackle, and license provided. Filet and packaging of fish. Instruction is provided on all trips. Capt. Chris is a knowledgeable and patient instructor that makes fishing the way it is supposed to be - FUN!!!

Capt. Chris is a full time professional guide with a lifetime of local fishing experience. This is no fish, no pay. No excuses. There will be days on the water when mother nature doesn’t provide the best conditions for fishing for certain species of fish. In this situation, Capt. Chris reserves the right to fish for other species that are willing to eat in this weather to fulfill the no fish no pay guarantee.

Captain Chris Haught
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