Frequently Asked Questions

What type of fishing do you do?  The type of fishing that I do is called inshore fishing. It is always done within sight of land and is quite often done in water shallow enough for you to get out of the boat and walk to shore.

What kind of fish do you fish for? We fish for inshore game fish like redfish, snook, trout, tarpon, cobia, and jacks.

What do you provide, what should I bring, and are there any rules?

Provided: Live Bait, lures, tackle, rods/reels, fishing licenses, cooler with ice.

You Might Want to Bring: Hat, sunglasses, polarized sunglasses, sunscreen, food and drinks.

Where Will We Meet?  I trailer my boat so we can meet at any one of several locations. We'll determine the best pickup locations when we talk on the phone.

Do I Need to Bring a Cooler?   There is a cooler on the boat to keep your drinks and food cool but if you plan on keeping fish for dinner, you might want to have one in your car when we get back to the dock.

What will the areas we'll be fishing look like?   Beaches, bays, flats, mangrove shorelines... ect.

Can I take home some of my catch for dinner?  Yes and I'll even clean and bag the fillets for you.

I have younger children who I would like to bring along. Are children welcome on your boat?   Absolutely!

Can you acommodate large groups?

Yes we can! With our network of skilled, qualified, licensed, and insured captains, we can accommodate almost any size group. We can arrange a groupd charter with up to 25 boats capable of fishing 4 anglers per boat.

We can also organize small corporate fishing tournaments as well as large charity fishing tournaments. Everything from food to entertainment at the captain's meeting to hotel and resort accomodations can be arranged for you. Call Tampa Flats Fishing today to discuss one of these unique fishing events.

 

Other Questions and Answers

Is gratuity expected and how much?
Gratuity is not expected and you do not need to feel like you have to offer it. Capt. Greg charges exactly what he needs to make a living. However, when it is offered for a job well done, it is very much appreciated. Tips help Capt. Greg pay for unexpected expeses like broken equipment, replacing baitwell pumps, and fixing flat stires on the trailer.

Why are fishing charters so expensive?
Because it is expensive to run a quality charter business and it is more time consuming than the time you actually spend with the captain. As far as expenses go, Capt. Greg uses boats that cost around $60k dollars. He gets a new one each year to ensure you are in a new boat on your charter. Gas is hovering around $4 a gallon and using 25-40 gallons of gas a day (between boat and truck) is average. Charter insurance is about $2200 per year. The rods and reels you will use avereage $250-300 per set-up. Plus hooks, line, nets, boat mainenance, trailer maininence, advertsing costs.... the list goes on.

Then when you talk about time, add four hours to the charter and that is roughly the amount of time your captain works to insure that you have a great charter. Boat Maintanence, boat washing, catching bait. cleaning fish... every charter.