Spanish mackerel are making a strong showing around Tampa Bay. Inside Tampa Bay big Spanish have taken up residence around the high range markers and artificial reefs. I like to anchor up tide of the structures and put over a frozen chum block. If anybody is home, a white bait and shrimp free lined […]

Snook fishing is on fire all over the Tampa Bay area. Capt. Billy Miller and his parties have been catching tons of snook including one monster that weighed 22 pounds and was released. All of these fish were caught on the flats using light tackle and live scaled sardines. The hot areas include Weedon  Island, […]

Fishing reports before this weeks cold weather had a spring type look to them. White bait was available at the Ft. Desoto Piers and the south Skyway fishing piers for cast netting anglers. The best times to get bait was in the dark throwing under the pier lights. After sun up bait could still be […]

                     In between the cold fronts Don Mastry and friends racked up the snapper and grouper in 85 feet south west of Egmont Key. Big mangrove, yellow tail and lane snapper all made it into the fish box along with some fire truck red grouper. Big gag grouper were also very hungry but they were […]

   The breaks in the windy weather allowed me to get in some flats fishing this week. Using jigs I worked the Pinellas Point and Ft. Desoto areas with good success.     Recently, I have started throwing 1/8 ounce chartreuse jig head with a root beer colored MirrOlure ‘Lil John” tail and having really good […]

Mercury is conducting Mercury vs. Yamaha outboard demos in the Ft. Myers/ Naples region called The Mercury Edge. I’ll be there. Come by and take a test ride with me!

   The winter weather pattern we are in now makes fishing and catching a hit or miss proposition. It is uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous to fish on the windy and cold days that a cold front passes through. The two days after a big winter front are usually challenging because of the stirred up water […]

   Sheepshead fishing is in its prime time in and around Tampa Bay right now. Prime habitat for sheepshead are artificial reefs, bridges and docks. Prime baits for sheeps are fresh shrimp, sand fleas, barnicles and fiddler crabs. Shrimp, and sometimes fiddler crabs, can be bought at bait shops so those are the easiest to […]

  Having trouble viewing this email?Click here   FWC SNOOK SYMPOSIUM The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission will be hosting a Snook Symposium on January 13 in Orlando, Fl. The Symposium is free and open to all individuals wanting to learn more about snook management. The day-long discussion will focus on snook management and research […]

Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission sent this bulletin at 12/21/2015 11:53 AM EST (Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.) Dec. 21, 2015 Suggested Tweet: Triggerfish and amberjack reopen to recreational harvest in Gulf waters Jan. 1: http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLFFWCC/bulletins/12c44ed #Florida #fishing Amberjack, triggerfish reopen to recreational harvest in Gulf waters Jan. […]

  I made a mangrove snapper trip with Capt. Billy Miller and the results were outstanding. We went to some rocky bottom west of Anna Maria in 40 feet and anchored over the highest piece of structure. Miller put out two chum bags and we started cutting up pieces of white bait and dropping them […]

   King fishing has been really good, with easy limits, so on a trip this week I decided to have some fun by challenging my tackle and angling ability. I took on our trip a 1942 Shakespeare Service reel, Model FA, spooled with 12 pound mono and wrapped on a varnished 9 foot Burma cane […]

Capt. Chase McBride led team WTF to first place in the “1st Annual “Bitch of the Ditch” kingfish tournament. Fishing in windy conditions McBride and his crew landed a 41.90 pound kingfish fishing in the Egmont Hole. Team Old School Intrepid landed a 32.50 pound kingfish to finish in second place. Tom Swick, Paul Fleming […]

  High winds have kept us closer to shore in protected areas this week, but the fishing has been good. Venturing 2 to 3 miles off St. Pete Beach we have filled the box with big Spanish mackerel and a few kings. Big schools of threadfin herring, large scaled sardines and Atlantic bumpers are right […]

Suggested Tweet: Recreational #snook harvest season closes Dec. 1 in Gulf: http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLFFWCC/bulletins/127476a #Florida #fishing Snook harvest seasonal closure in Gulf starts Dec. 1 The recreational harvest season for snook closes Dec. 1 in Gulf state and federal waters, including Monroe County and Everglades National Park, and will remain closed through Feb. 29, 2016, reopening to […]

Gag grouper will close for recreational harvest in most Gulf of Mexico state waters Dec. 4, with the last day of harvest being Dec. 3. All Gulf federal waters will close Dec. 3, with the last day of harvest being Dec. 2. State waters off Franklin, Wakulla, Jefferson and Taylor counties were open from April […]

  Capt. Billy Miller reports good mixed bag fishing. Miller guided Brian Gray to a nice catch of triple tail, snook, reds and trout on a half day morning trip. Mackerel and kings are also available to add to the catch if he winds are not up. Triple tail reports are coming in from anglers […]

Go Fish for 11/22/15 by Capt. Bill Miller Capt. Billy Miller reports good mixed bag fishing. Miller guided Brian Gray to a nice catch of triple tail, snook, reds and trout on a half day morning trip. Mackerel and kings are also available to add to the catch if he winds are not up. Triple […]

Hi Friends,   Our annual Fishing for Hope Food Drive is this Saturday, November 21, 2015 from 9am to 1 pm at the Metropolitan Ministries Holiday Tent. The tent is located at 400 West Palm Avenue, in downtown Tampa, Fl. 33602. You can’t miss the giant tent.   Please join me, “Reel Animals” Capt. Mike […]

23” Hanson -2011 Custom built to owner specifications with owner supervision 175hp Mercury Pro XS Opti Max – 700 hours Porta bracket Stainless steel prop Hydraulic steering 60 gallon aluminum fuel tank Owens and Sons double axle trailer with electric brakes 55 gallon bait well with 2 Rule 1100 gallon per hour pumps On board […]

I’m starting to see signs of  fall in the gulf. A few weeks ago I was seeing mostly Spanish mackerel and ladyfish feeding on small bait. Now the cobia, sharks and jacks have shown up adding a new look. In our mackerel catches was the first kingfish of the year for me. It was a […]

  Limited harvest for snook, a premier Florida fish, starts Sept. 1 The recreational harvest season for snook, a premier Florida fish, starts Sept. 1 statewide. Unique to the region, snook are one of the many reasons Florida is the Fishing Capital of the World. While the fishery is already more than 90 percent catch-and-release, […]

  I made a deep water bottom fishing trip this week with Capt. Tommy Butler, Doug Shields, Jimmy Wheeler and friends. Leaving in the dark, we stopped off St. Pete and filled out live well with frisky pinfish to go along with our frozen Spanish sardines and squid. As the sun broke we headed west […]

Mangrove snapper are the go to fish for anglers these days. There are plenty of them around now and they are fairly easy to find and catch. Most Tampa Bay structure has ton of mangrove snapper on them now. All of the charted artificial reefs are loaded and great places to start. Most of the […]

  Redfish are gathering in big schools as they do each fall. Incoming high tide bring them close to the mangrove shore lines. As the tides drop out the redfish schools will move away from the shore lines to deeper water. The deeper water may be the edge of the flats as it drops off […]

  Capt. Billy Miller reports the pompano bite is slowing down but the redfish bite is getting better by the day. Mangrove shore lines on incoming water is a good place to look for the reds. The white bait and green backs are real small right now so try fresh cut pinfish, ladyfish or mullet […]

Night time fishing is a good way to beat the summer heat and Tampa Bay offers many opportunities. Dock lights attract bait fish that attract other fish like speckled trout, redfish, snook, ladyfish and more. The best baits for night time dock fishing include white bait, live shrimp, DOA shrimp and flies. The smaller baits […]

Permit have moved in good to the inshore reefs and wrecks reports Maximo Marina. These permit are not the smaller inshore version that sometimes can be confused with a pompano.  These are big bruisers in the 20 to 40 pound range. Heavy tarpon spinning tackle is needed to keep the big permit from cutting you […]

  The summer months, when the kids are out of school, is the time for what I call “Family Fun Fishing”. Family fun fishing is really nothing more than action. Kids like action and with action comes positive fishing experiences that start a love for fishing. When my kids were barely able to get on […]

The summer months, when the kids are out of school, is the time for what I call “Family Fun Fishing”. Family fun fishing is really nothing more than action. Kids like action and with action comes positive fishing experiences that start a love for fishing. When my kids were barely able to get on the […]

Scallop season has opened up and reports from the Crystal River/Homosassa area say the crop is looking good. The traditional hotspots in that area are the end of the Rock Island Channel, around the Bird Rack and due west and southwest of Chassahowitzka Point. Lot of boaters enjoy this fun Florida activity and at times […]

    Gulf of Mexico greater amberjack size limit change approved by FWC The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) today approved changing the minimum size limit for greater amberjack caught in Gulf of Mexico state waters from 30 inches fork length to 34 inches fork length. Fork length is measured from the tip […]

Gag grouper season opens July 1 and anglers are getting ready for trips to deep water to search for gags. Although the biggest concentrations of gags will be in depths of 80 feet and out, there are plenty of gags in and around Tampa Bay. Look for bay gags along the edge of the ship […]

Tarpon season is in full swing and that is all the fishing I have been doing lately. For years I have been asked what is my favorite fish to fish for and the answer, hands down, is tarpon. The next question is why do I like it so much? I like it because: Tarpon are […]

American red snapper season has started with a real bang. Deep water anglers up and down the coast report great snapper action from 100 feet and out. Laurence Hall says the big flag yellowtail action is red hot off Boca Grande. Hall is finding them on hard bottom area with structure. Chumming will bring the […]

Check out the new SoftScience, Inc. shoes I’m wearing now. They were developed by the founder and chief designer of Crocs and the former president of Reebok. Thet are really comfortable shoes. I have been wearing my pair of ‪#‎Fins‬ for a month now and I can’t believe how light weight and comfortable they are. I don’t even know […]

Check out the new SoftScience, Inc. shoes I’m wearing now. They were developed by the founder and chief designer of Crocs and the former president of Reebok. Thet are really comfortable shoes. I have been wearing my pair of ‪#‎Fins‬ for a month now and I can’t believe how light weight and comfortable they are. I don’t even know […]

Amberjack closes June 1 in Gulf state waters   The recreational harvest of greater amberjack in Gulf of Mexico state waters closes June 1 and will remain closed through July 31, reopening Aug. 1. Seasonal harvest closures help conserve Florida’s valuable greater amberjack populations and improve these fisheries for the future. Learn more about recreational […]

The Skyway bridge is one of the longest artificial reefs in the world. Spanning over 4 miles, the pilings and structure are a natural habitat for fish of all kinds. Fishing there is terrific either from a boat or from the fishing piers on both ends. Reports this week from the fishing piers say Spanish […]

Gulf state recreational red snapper season opens Memorial Day weekend               The recreational red snapper season for Gulf state waters opens to harvest Memorial Day weekend. Red snapper is a popular species that has a strong economic impact for many coastal communities throughout Florida.           […]

Stone crab season closes May 16 The commercial and recreational harvest of stone crab claws in Florida closes on May 16, with the last day of harvest on May 15. Stone crab season will reopen on Oct. 15. This 5-month closure occurs each year during the species’ peak spawning season to help conserve and sustain […]

Lots of tarpon have showed up right on time and with them come hungry sharks. Anglers tarpon fishing at the Skyway bridge out to Egmont Key are having a hard time getting a whole tarpon to the boat for pictures and release because packs of hungry bull sharks are eating on them. A few big […]

This recent spell of windy weather will change things around offshore. Kingfish will move north and offshore and bottom fish, like snapper and grouper, will move to high structure. When the winds die down look for kingfish first around artificial reefs with clean water and bait. Look for bottom fish around wrecks and high, rocky […]

Snook will close to all harvest in Gulf state, federal and inland waters, including all of Monroe County and Everglades National Park, starting May 1. Seasonal harvest closures conserve Florida’s valuable snook populations and help sustain and improve the fishery for the future. Snook is open to harvest in Atlantic state, federal and inland waters, […]

This past week I have seen love bugs on my car and also my boat. That means one thing to me. It is tarpon time. Good early season spots for tarpon in Old Tampa Bay include the Hillsborough River by downtown, along Bayshore Boulevard and the west side Davis Island. In Upper Tampa Bay look […]

Just when I thought near shore fishing could not get much better, it did. More kingfish moved onto the artificial reefs and hard bottom areas from 50 feet and in. The Egmont ship channel has kings from markers 13 and 14 all the way out to the Whistler sea buoy. Blackfin tuna and sailfish, normally […]

The right combination of water temperature, easterly winds in the morning and westerly wind in the afternoon has brought migrating bait fish to our local coast lines and with them have come lots of king mackerel producing the best kingfish run in many years. Anglers trolling live baits and spoons are easily catching limits. Hot […]

The fishing is about as good as it gets right now, inshore or offshore. If you were waiting for the right time to go fishing, that time is now. Get off the couch and get out there. Capt. Ryan Farner says the redfish and snook are eating the bottom of the boat out in the […]

Sailfish made an appearance this week reports Maximo Marina. Art Hysop and Joey Burgess were bottom fishing for hogfish 20 miles out and decided to put out a top line with a white bait on it. Shortly after being deployed the white bait was eaten by a 30 pound kingfish. Another white bait went out […]

Kingfish action has been terrific this week. Great reports are coming in from up and down the coast. The Veteran’s Reef off of Dunedin has been on fire reports Bill Graham. Graham and friends had multiple hook ups all morning long, earlier in the week using white bait, and finally got tired and went home. […]

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The time I spent on the water this week confirms that spring is all around us. Spring fishing signs include lots of bait showing up all over Tampa Bay. I saw glass minnows, threadfins and scaled sardines around bridges, flats and markers. When bait shows up in good numbers that means bonitos, Spanish mackerel, jack […]

If you can find white bait the snook fishing has been red hot. The most reliable place I have found for bait is the Skyway fishing piers or the bridge itself. The bait is moving around that area depending on the weather and sometimes can be tricky to get. Capt. Billy Miller used white bait […]

Legendary Anglers – Extraordinary Learning: Join Capt. Bill and a stellar cast of fishing experts for the inaugural “Legends Fishing Academy,” 3/28/15 at Tampa Fishing Outfitters . Enjoy in-depth seminars with angling luminaries like Scott Moore, Van Hubbard, Jay Mastry and Ray Markham and young talents: Bill Miller, Ryan Farner and Jason Semeyn. Lunch, refreshments […]

The recreational harvest season for one of Florida’s premier fish, snook, reopens on March 1 in Florida’s Gulf of Mexico state and adjacent federal waters, including Everglades National Park and Monroe County. The season will remain open through April 30. In the Gulf, anglers may keep one snook per day that is not less than […]

This freezing weather we recently had brought back memories of younger days. During those freezing days I would fish residential canals and dredge holes around Tampa and St. Pete for speckled trout. Trout gang up in those out of the wind places because the water temp is usually warmer around the sea walls and the […]

Power plant warm water run offs are good places to fish during periods of cold weather. Predator fish and bait fish move to the warmer water temps for comfort . Commonly found fish in the warm water runoffs pompano, trout, sharks, ladyfish, jacks, bluefish and more. A number of years ago a 30 pound kingfish […]

Power plant warm water run offs are good places to fish during periods of cold weather. Predator fish and bait fish move to the warmer water temps for comfort . Commonly found fish in the warm water runoffs pompano, trout, sharks, ladyfish, jacks, bluefish and more. A number of years ago a 30 pound kingfish […]

The recreational harvest of gray triggerfish will close in Gulf state waters Saturday, Feb. 7. The season will remain closed through Dec. 31 and will apply in 2015 only. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) discussed gray triggerfish at its February meeting in Jacksonville and received public testimony in support of a state […]

On windy days residential canals and rivers are the places to be. They offer protection from the wind and the water temperature is usually a little warmer. If you can find and catch white bait that works fine, however in the winter the whitebait sometimes becomes scarce. In that case go to the old standby, […]

  Scientist with the FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) are asking snook anglers to save their filleted carcasses and take them to a participating bait and tackle store in their area. These carcasses provide information on the size, age, maturity and sex of the catch. This program allows anglers to participate in the collection of data […]

Winter is a good time for silver trout. A smaller cousin to the speckled trout, silvers gather up in big numbers in deep water as the water temperatures drop. Popular gathering spots around Tampa Bay are the Gandy boat ramp channel by the big for sale sign, the channel bend going into the Weedon Island […]

Fishing in the winter when the weather might be in high 70’s for three or four days and then the 40’s for three or four days can be challenging. The changing water temps will move fish back and forth from winter patterns to sp ring patterns. I had been fishing winter patterns using shrimp and […]

Stuart, Florida is one of the best sailfishing ports in the U. S. and I was there this week filming an episode of  ”Fishing with Bill Miller.” I fished on the beautiful 72” custom built Merritt sportfisherman “Briar Patch” captained by Capt. Karl Anderson. Anderson had an all star crew including Capt. Tim Sperling and […]

Sheepshead have been a go to fish recently all around the Tampa Bay. Dropping water temperatures have started to group up thesheepshead in preparation for their spawn. Capt. Billy Miller has been focusing on docks and rip rap sea walls in the John’s Pass area and filling bag limits using live shrimp on a 1/4 […]

OutDoors Unlimited Magazine (ODUMagazine.com) is proud to include Captain Bill Miller, the WFN host of “Fishing with Bill Miller” show,  as an advertising and media partner. In the future, OutDoors Unlimited Magazine will be working with Captain Bill Miller to share his shows and fishing stories with our growing  readership.  Further, OutDoors Unlimited Magazine’s family […]

When you spend much of your life on the water, you develop an insight that comes from experience. You see how fish respond to various combinations of elements and you figure out how to make the most of the opportunities you encounter. Through my many years spent fishing the waters of west central Florida, I have picked up several tips on how to leverage the natural tendencies of the various species in our local waters.

By David A. Brown With the wind cranking, it’s easy to dismiss Capt. Billy Miller’s decision to stay close to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge as one of comfort, but nothing could be farther from the truth. For one thing, the waters around this iconic structure spanning the mouth of Tampa Bay are not immune to the […]

Celebrate the Life & Passion of Captain Mel Berman

This is an amateur only, All-Lure “Trout and Redfish”, Catch-And-Release tournament. This is the fourth annual event. The event will continue to honor the departed colleague, media icon and friend who graced the airwaves for decades and became the “Granddaddy” of Tampa Bay fishing. A portion of the tournament proceeds will go to The Humane Society of Pinellas, an animal service that Mel supported. The event has five divisions: Open, No-Motor, Fly, Ladies and Junior.

Capt. Bill Miller is pleased to welcome major sponsors Mercury Marine and Lucas Oil Products to the “Fishing With Bill Miller” team. Capt. Bill has been on the Mercury Pro Team for more than 20 years and proudly represented Mercury (www.mercurymarine.com) during his 16-year tenure as the host of “Hooked on Fishing,” as well as […]

Capt. Bill makes his global debut April 6, as World Fishing Network (WFN) launches the first season of “Fishing With Bill Miller.” Show times are Sundays at 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 pm, Thursday’s 1 p.m. and 10 p.m. and Friday’s 3 a.m. Available through most cable providers and Dish Network, WFN reaches 60 million homes […]

Capt. Bill Miller proudly announces Salt Life Sport Optics Sunglasses (www.biminibayoptics.com) as his exclusive eyewear sponsor for “Fishing With Bill Miller,” which debuts April 6 on World Fishing Network. Salt Life Sport Optic Sunglasses feature Zeiss lenses. With over 160 years of optical excellence, Zeiss lenses are made with premium grade polarization, true color recognition […]