Dock Snook & Snapper & … Hogfish? 10/12

[Bud Man]

Another glorious Fall weekend of fishing in South St. Pete Beach. The Merry Pier in Pass-A-Grill drew the usual collection of dedicated fisherman, including Cap’t. Dick, Tim from Tampa, JoeMama, Mike from Michigan, Dave & other regulars. The fishing was slow but steady, with tides peaking before sunrise, and a strong outgoing tide all morning. Keeping weeds off our lines was a problem Saturday.

The fish were fairly cooperative, though. Mike landed a keeper flounder and a slot snook. There were macks, legal snapper, short red and gag grouper, etc. But the highlight of the weekend was when Leon caught a hog snapper- yes, a real, 100% hogfish, caught inshore at the Merry Pier. Hogfish are an offshore species, and difficult to catch on hook and line. They are a favored target for spearfisherman. I have never seen nor heard of one caught inshore, but Leon’s was DEFINATLY a hog snapper. Just goes to show… you never know what you might catch in the waters of Tampa Bay!
a report from tampa fishing.net

[Swami]

Budman:
I've done pretty well on hogfish this year, including this pair from the day after Halloween.


All of my fish have been caught within 15 miles of John's Pass. How big was the one caught at Merry Pier?