The Best Ways to Go Fishing in St. Pete-Clearwater
Fishing is an outdoor activity that anglers of all skills levels can enjoy. And with so many places and ways to fish in St. Pete-Clearwater, even beginners can reel in a big catch from the shimmering waters of the Gulf of Mexico or Tampa Bay.
Reel in a variety of fish with Hubbard's fishing trips and charters.
Whether you prefer to cast from the beach or a jetty, dangle a shrimp off a pier, book a charter boat for small-group or head out with other people on a party boat, there’s a variety of wonderful ways to spend the day fishing throughout St. Pete-Clearwater.
Just look at a map of St. Pete-Clearwater and its watery perimeter. Set on a peninsula with nearly 588 miles of coastline and 35 miles of beaches, you can start on the Gulf of Mexico at Tarpon Springs and Palm Harbor and go south to Pass-a-Grille Beach and Tierra Verde. On the east side of the peninsula, you'll find Tampa Bay and Old Tampa Bay waters in St. Petersburg, and north toward Safety Harbor and Oldsmar. The good news? Fish are everywhere.
Depending on what you want to catch and the time of year, you can pursue everything from tasty flounder and redfish to catch-and-release fish such as hard-fighting tarpon and goliath grouper. You can even go old-school and fish for bluegill or bass with a worm dangling under a red-and-white bobber on a freshwater lake.
“Fishing is a wonderful activity. It clears your head and delivers fun in the sun – and it’s a mystery. You just don’t know what you’re going to pull in,” says Captain Dylan Hubbard, the fourth generation in his family at the helm of Hubbard’s Marina at the John’s Pass Village & Boardwalk in Madeira Beach. The Hubbard family has been connecting visitors with fish since 1928 and for three years has earned accolades from USA Today as the top fishing charter company in the United States.
Captain Hubbard has a favorite saying: “If you’re too busy to go fishing, you’re just too darned busy.” A corollary goes like this: “If you can’t find a place to go fishing in St. Pete-Clearwater, you’re just not looking.”
From land to sea, here’s a look at the variety of ways to fish the waters of St. Pete-Clearwater.
Pick a Party Boat
Dylan Hubbard is a local fishing expert whose family has been taking people fishing in Florida for 100 years.
A party boat trip is the best way for a novice to learn about saltwater fishing. Catching fish is practically guaranteed. For example, a Hubbard’s Marina half-day excursion takes you 9 to 12 miles out from John’s Pass into the Gulf of Mexico. Likely catches are grey snapper, porgies, black sea bass and perhaps hogfish. All-day 10-hour trips go to deeper water, where your chances of catching tasty grouper increase.
More options from Hubbard’s Marina include 12-hour night trips, 39-hour overnight trips and 44-hour full moon trips. There’s extra excitement on Friday night shark trips.
Tip: Heed Captain Hubbard’s admonition not to bring a banana aboard one of his boats. They’re bad luck. Discover a good read about other nautical superstitions.
After a Hubbard's excursion, nearby restaurants such as the Friendly Fisherman and the Boardwalk Grill will cook your fresh fillets.
Consider a Fishing Charter
A fishing boat charter is a wonderful way to get out on the water and find the fish.
Captain Ray Markham is one of many charter captains in the area who cater to clients who want a quieter or more intimate experience than a party boat provides. Many charter boats can take six anglers, but trips for only one or two anglers are also common. Markham, a fishing guide for more than 30 years who particularly likes the east side of St. Pete-Clearwater, has a specialty – he’s among the few guides who use only artificial lures rather than live bait.
“Tampa Bay is the biggest estuary in Florida and one of the most diverse fisheries in the world. There are many, many small eco-systems, so you can go after fish that like certain habitats. There are more than 200 species of fish in this estuary. I’ve caught 19 species on the same lure,” he says.
Fish off a Pier
Fishing off the St. Pete Pier comes with great views.
There's another style of fishing that’s easy, accessible and affordable – pier fishing – and St. Pete-Clearwater has a particularly notable pier fishing location. That’s the Skyway Fishing Pier, the world’s longest fishing pier. When the arching Sunshine Skyway Bridge was built linking St. Petersburg with the Bradenton area, the old bridge opened for fishing. Anglers drive right to their favorite spots to cast for snook, grouper, black sea bass, sheepshead, red snapper and many other species.
The St. Pete Pier has a fishing deck and a bait shop (plus there are restaurants, bars, and a nature discovery center nearby), making this an easy and fun place to fish. However, storms in late fall 2024 damaged other fishing piers. Locations to monitor for reopening include the two piers at Fort De Soto Park and piers in Dunedin, Safety Harbor and Gulfport.
When operating, fishing piers provide a communal experience, so it’s an opportunity to chat with other anglers, learn what fish are active and perhaps share your catch with someone you’ve befriended. Some piers offer tackle rentals, bait and concessions.
Relax at the Lake
Fishing in Lake Tarpon is a serene experience.
Lake fishing is popular in St. Pete-Clearwater, too, with several freshwater lakes as options for anglers in search of bluegill and bass – Lake Maggiore, Lake Seminole and Lake Tarpon (363 to 2,534 acres), among them. The city of St. Pete has four lakes where fishing is allowed year-round.
About Our Writer
Tom Adkinson is a travel and outdoor writer from Nashville, Tennessee, who has enjoyed chasing fish throughout the United States and around the world. He is a Marco Polo member of the Society of American Travel Writers, and his “100 Things To Do in Nashville Before You Die” book is in its third edition.
