Fishing Charlotte Harbor Area (tax, cable, worker)

[MikeM8560]

did you run from Charlotte Beach to Tippicanoe Bay that's some traveling

[Messing About]

Yes, Mike. It's not really a long run from Charlotte Beach to Tippy. The prior weekend I made the ride all the way down to the Cape Haze sand bar. Now that's a long, pre-dawn run. Today I'm joining a buddy on his boat and we're heading off shore out off Gasparilla Pass.

[Salty Dave]

I checkout the cam at the pass almost every morning, looked pretty calm today. How did you do?

[Messing About]

Going out was as smooth as glass and we ran at 30 knots. Coming back was a 2' sea and we ran at 20 knots. Not bad. Fishing was great. There were 3 of us aboard. 30 lane snapper, 6 vermillion snapper, all legal size, 3 red grouper keepers, lots of short grouper released, a couple of real monster grouper beat us in the structure, 14 lesser amberjack, and a handful of triggerfish, grunts, porgies and blue runners.

We had lost track of our count during the day, so we recounted the snapper and re-measured the grouper before we came in. Everything was good but it's a good thing we did. We got checked by CCSO at the Placida Park ramp. He said no violators on Sunday but said Saturday he cited people for possessing gag grouper (not open until July) and for having short sheepshead. Keep it legal, folks. Have your guests buy fishing licenses, know the bag limits and measure your fish. I get stopped about twice a year here, in different boats too, so it's not just me. There are several really good apps for your smartphone to verify size and bag limits while you are out. I like this one called Fish Rules for $1.99. It uses your location to ensure you are getting accurate regulations for your area and has lots of photos for helping identify the different species.

[MikMal]

I like the idea about the Fish Rules app (who would have guessed there are so many types of groupers??) but will it work if you're out of cell tower range? Having yet to explore the harbor, I don't know if there are any dead spots out there. What about off shore; how far out before you loose the cell signal?

[Harbor Hopper]

Originally Posted by Messing About

I like this one called Fish Rules for $1.99. It uses your location to ensure you are getting accurate regulations for your area and has lots of photos for helping identify the different species.

Must be in the Apple I-store only. There is only one "Fish Rules" app in the Android store. 4/5 stars and it's free. Maybe I'll give it a try

[Messing About]

Once you download the app, it will be available off line, with all of the data available to look things up. I did it yesterday, 20 miles off-shore. Your cell service will be lost between 5-10 miles out, depending on your carrier. Hint: to save your battery, either turn off the phone or if you want it for camera access or to use your apps, put your phone in airplane mode so it doesn't use power searching for a cell signal.

[MikeM8560]

MA were you in your mako ?

[Messing About]

No, lol....didn't take the Mako Flats 20 miles out. We were in my buddy's KW Bluewater 20.

[Sea Ray Mark]

Originally Posted by Harbor Hopper

Must be in the Apple I-store only. There is only one "Fish Rules" app in the Android store. 4/5 stars and it's free. Maybe I'll give it a try

I looked in the apple store and found the only app called "fish rules" was a free app also. It works the same as the one HH described so maybe it's just free now? It's an awesome app especially for people like me that are new to the area and want to stay out of trouble. Thanks for the heads up HH!