Sight Fishing Charters

Tarpon sight fishing charters near St. Pete Beach, FL.

When we take our guests out on our sight fishing charters, we are usually looking for Tarpon. When sight fishing, you will be in the tower of The Jawbreaker, idling up the shore line, not even 100 ft out. We are looking for what is known as a “daisy chain”, this is a school of Tarpon swimming in a circling motion. Once we cut the engine, the fish continue to drift our way and the water is calm. Next, we will drop a dead Shad on the bottom with some lead. Then, we will cast a couple of big Pinfish under corks in different directions, and throw a giant Threadfin into the mix as well.

There are many different methods to catching Tarpon other than sight fishing, but on The Jawbreaker, we have found that cruising the beach is the fastest way to get the big one on your line. St. Petersburg, Tampa, Clearwater and surrounding beaches of the Gulf of Mexico, provides some of the best Tarpon fishing in the world. Tarpon can be a little bit on the finicky side, so hook-ups, or “flying”, several fish in a day is considered successful...landing a Tarpon deserves a trophy..

What other fish might we see while sight fishing in the Gulf of Mexico?

When our sight fishing charters go out, we aren’t only looking for Tarpon, there are many species of fish that are best found by physically looking for them. One common fish we often find when sight fishing is the Tripletail. This is a delicious fish and incredibly easy to catch once they are spotted. Most charters over look the Tripletail when cruising the shores sight fishing. This prehistoric looking fish is usually found clinging to floating debris, or hanging around one of the thousands of crab trap buoys that dot our coast line. A Tripletail can often resemble seaweed or flotsam, so if you aren’t specifically looking for one, you probably will never see one. But the crew of The Jawbreaker know what they are looking for while sight fishing, so you just might catch one.

We also look for Cobia when sight fishing the waters off the coast of St. Petersburg and Tampa. Just like the Tripletail, Cobia will be found circling around any permanent structure. Cobia is one of our all time favorite catches. Most of the Cobia we catch on our sight fishing charters are in the 15-25lb range, some of our anglers have even caught over a 50lb Cobia. These fish are pretty easy to catch once spotted; simply pitching a crab or a pinfish at a Cobia is usually all it will take. These guys don’t have the ability to turn away food, Cobia are known for their appetite.

During a typical year, Tarpon will migrate from the south around April, and are plentiful in the gulf waters throughout the summer months. We can fish for Cobia and Tripletail almost any time of the year, but they are more plentiful in the summer and fall. Shark and Mackerel are also more prevalent during the summer and fall. So when we are sight fishing off the coast of St. Petersburg, FL and surrounding beaches, we target multiple species of fish.

If you are ready to book your sight fishing charter, call Jawbreaker Charters at (727) 432-0422 or complete our online reservation form. We will schedule your charter during the best time of day, with the best possible conditions, giving you every opportunity to catch that prize fish!