North of Tampa Bay Coastal Fishing

Welcome to our North of Tampa Bay Coastal Fishing Home Page

The fishing can be excellent with many inshore and offshore opportunities in the coastal towns just north of Tampa Bay, Florida.  Anglers fish around the barrier islands near Dunedin, Palm Harbor and Tarpon Springs for a variety of inshore and nearshore fish species such as redfish, trout, tarpon, cobia, snook, sheepshead, sharks and more.  Travel further north to fish miles and miles of shallow water flats for redfish, trout, flounder, sharks and others.  Many people come to Tarpon Springs since it is the shortest boat launch to the famous “Middle Grounds” offshore fishing spot.

Fishing Reports

Inshore Fishing

The barrier island around Dunedin, Palm Harbor and Tarpon Springs are known for their outstanding fishing for a variety of fish species.  Anglers target redfish, trout, flounder, snook, tarpon, sheepshead and many other species of fish in this part of Florida.  Anglers have lots of options with all the islands, passes, bridges, mangroves and other areas to fish.

As you head further north in this part of Florida, you’re going to find a lot of really shallow water.  In the Hernando Beach area, it is common to see many boats hanging out with the friends and families while swimming, snorkerling and fishing out on these huge flats area.  If you pull up a navigational map, you will see that there are a lot of rocks along this shoreline as you head up the coastline, so be careful when boating in this part of Florida.  There can be some very good fishing at times in the shallow water areas, but some areas can ruin a motor or your boat in a hurry.

There are a lot of good backcountry waters to fish in this area as well.  Many anglers fish out of kayaks in the shallow water areas around mangrove-lined shorelines.  You can get into these spots with smaller skiff boats as well.

Learn more on our North of Tampa Bay Coastal Inshore Fishing page.

Nearshore Fishing

It is common to see boats running the beaches in the nearshore waters outside the barrier islands in the Dunedin, Palm Harbor and Tarpon Springs area.  As you go further north, there are no barrier islands to fish and it gets real shallow.  Many anglers will fish the nearshore structure for a variety of fish as well.  Near the barrier islands, you have a lot deeper water close to shore.  As you head further north, you are going to be fishing fairly shallow water even if you’re a couple miles away from shore.

Learn more on our North of Tampa Bay Coastal Nearshore Fishing page.

Deep Sea / Offshore Fishing

This part of Florida is home to a lot of shallow water, so plan on heading anywhere from 20 to 100 miles out depending on what type of trip you have planned.  The famous “Middle Grounds” provide some of the best deep sea fishing you can experience off the Gulf Coast and at its closest point in Tarpon Springs, it is only 75 miles away.  From other boat ramps in various towns along the coast, it can be closer to 100 miles out and that is just one way, so you’re looking at 200 miles of driving in a boat to experience the amazing fishing.  For other trips, you may be heading 20 to 40 miles out.  It all depends what your game plan is and the shallower water means you have to make some longer runs to get to deeper water.

Learn more on our North of Tampa Bay Coastal Deep Sea Fishing page.

Shore Fishing

There are some good spots to fish from shore in this area, but these spots are spread out in several different coastal towns.  Take a look at the link below to learn more about the different shore fishing spots in this area.

Learn about the best spots to fish the North of Tampa Bay Coastal from shore.

Bait & Tackle

Boat Launches