John's Pass Fishing Charters & Guides

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Charters Near John's Pass
Deep Color Fishing
St. Petersburg, FL
(5.0, 23 Reviews)
Captain Ted Nesti Inshore Fishing Charters
Saint Petersburg, FL
(4.9, 47 Reviews)
Popular in St.Petersburg
Leisure Life Charters
St.Petersburg, Florida
(5.0, 8 Reviews)
Skirtchaser Charters
Madeira Beach, FL
(5.0, 41 Reviews)
  • The average cost for a four hour trip in John's Pass is $591, while the average cost for an 8 hour trip is $1128. Prices can vary based on trip duration, boat size and amenities, and the type of fishing your group is looking to do. View all John's Pass Charters here.

  • The following boats offer shared trips in John's Pass:

    Anglers Dream Fishing
    Mow Fish Charter
  • The most common charter boat types in John's Pass are:

    Center Console

    Bay Boat

  • The average charter boat size in John's Pass is 25 feet.

About Fishing in John's Pass

John's Pass Fishing Charters

John's Pass is a neighborhood in the Madeira Beach community just west of Tampa and north of St. Pete. It is also is a channel created by a hurricane in 1848. This barrier island community has sprawling white beaches perfect for sun worshippers and a day in the surf in the Gulf of Mexico. The bayside is canals, boat docks and a few tiny islands that barely stick out of the water at high tide, perfect fishing territory. The John's Pass cut was created by a hurricane in 1848. The pass connects the middle of Boca Ciega Bay to the Gulf of Mexico. Over the years, the channel was deepened and maintained and now has a bridge crossing it. With fast access to Tampa, John's Pass makes an excellent place for a vacation for family members who want to fish while others see go to Busch Gardens in Tampa and Disney just outside Orlando.

John's Pass Inshore Fishing

The canals are excellent places to find reds, trout, snook, sheepshead, black drum and other fish. The snook (also called “linesiders”) are more particular about feeding than the other fish. They are going to bite best when the water is moving. John's Pass waterway is an excellent place to tie into big linesides and bull reds. In both cases, your best shot at the really big fish is live bait, like a mid-sized pinfish, small mullet or menhaden. Snook will also hit a variety of artificial lures when they get their feed on. Shrimp and any of the shore minnows will also draw strikes. When the water is still, look for reds around points and the mudflats around the islands. Trout are also found in the pass. Your chances for specks are better in the bay fishing over the grass flats or mouths of the tidal creeks. Fishing in moving or cloudy water with a popping cork for the reds and trout improves your chances of a connection. Sheepshead are found close the seawalls and along the pilings on the bridge crossing from the mainland. Fiddler crabs are considered the best live bait, but shrimp, squid and barnacles will also produce fish. You need to slow down for black drum and fish on the bottom with live or cut bait. They will hit a slow-moving jig, especially when tipped with cut bait for scent. On the Gulf side, trout, croakers, and when the water temperature is just right, permit and pompano cruise along looking for something to eat. One of the best surf fishing baits is caught on the beach. Mole crabs, better known as sand fleas, are harmless and plentiful. Spanish mackerel are also caught in the bay and in the Gulf of Mexico. Spanish mackerel are attracted to anything silver that is moving. Spoons, hard-body lures and trolling plugs tipped with a cigar minnow or ballyhoo will catch these fish.

John's Pass Offshore Fishing

The Gulf of Mexico provides plenty of action for offshore anglers. Tuna, wahoo, king mackerel, shark, mahi mahi and even sailfish are the top pelagic species. Trolling is the preferred way to find these fish since they are constantly on the move. The best trolling setup will pull a variety of baits. Hard-body lures, dusters, and bubblers tipped with bait and something on a downrigger straight off the back of the boat is an excellent set. Reef fish like amberjack and grouper are also caught trolling. John's Pass fishing charters will sometimes troll past reefs and underwater structures to see if anything is there to catch. If fish are there, the captain will have you switch to dropping live and cut bait over the side. Size your hooks for what you want to catch. Triggerfish have much smaller mouths than snappers and many other bottom dwellers. Jigging is an effective technique. It can be a workout since some of the lures can weigh as much as half a pound.

John's Pass Goliath Grouper

If you are tough enough and strong enough, John's Pass fishing charters can put you on a true sea monster. Goliath grouper are catch-and-release only, but what a story you have to tell. While you fight, your guide will get video. When, or rather if, you get the fish to the boat, he will also be sure to get pictures.

Book A John's Pass Fishing Charter

Fishing John's Pass is about getting fish to the boat, taking home some fillets and, most of all, making memories. When you are ready to create some memories and not-so-tall tales, FishAnywhere is ready to connect you to the local guides who make it happen.

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