Homosassa Fishing Charters & Guides

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Charters Near Homosassa
Finntastick Charters
Homosassa, FL
(4.9, 23 Reviews)
Popular in Crystal River
All Shores Outdoors LLC
Crystal River, FL
(5.0, 2 Reviews)
Early Bird Charters
Homosassa, FL
(5.0, 4 Reviews)
About Fishing in Homosassa

Homosassa Fishing Charters

Looking at the coastline at Homosassa is like looking at a fractal art. The more you zoom in, the more islands pop up. Fishermen see this and start drooling. Those islands in the shallow estuary mean points, grass flats, mud and oyster bars, channels with ledges from a few inches to a foot or so hold all kinds of fish. The Homosassa River is the main freshwater feed through the area and its channel runs deeper than the rest. Homosassa is home to historic Florida and several nearby state parks. Several tour companies offer trips through the mangrove-covered islands. It is just a few miles from Crystal River, a popular tourist destination.

Homosassa Inshore Fishing

Few places can offer the kind of shallow-water fishing found here. Channels and cuts wind through the marshy islands. At high tide, many of these small bits of land are underwater. Homosassa fishing charters know which passes and cuts are holding fish because they are not all created equal. When the tide goes out, it flushes prey animals out to waiting hungry mouths. Reds and trout are thick in these waters. These waters are where redfish come to grow into the bulls that so many people chase and rarely see. Other fish use these waters as a nursery as well. As species like grouper get bigger, they move farther and farther out. Black drum are also found in the many channels in the area. While not the tarpon destination it once was, Homosassa still has plenty of the silver kings in season. Fish cruise the root systems of the mangrove trees that grow in the shallows. What you intend to catch determines how you fish. Throwing swim tail grubs or shrimp-imitating lures will catch just about everything that swims. The tails can be curled or have a paddle tail. You can retrieve these fast or slow. If the water is murky, rig your lure under a popping cork. Live and cut bait can also be fished under this kind of cork. The black drum is an outlier; you have to bound the lure slowly on the bottom. Black drum are not aggressive feeders and are mostly caught with bait on the bottom. If the tarpon are around, live blue crabs are a top producer. For fly fisherman, tarpon are a bucket list fish. If you are among that crowd, you need big streamer patterns, shrimp or crabs. You need a heavy rod, 12-weight is recommended. Your reel needs at least 200 yards of backing and 300 is preferred. Cobia, during certain times of the year, are found nearshore to the deeper waters. These primitive fish do not have the set of razors other fish call teeth, but do not let this fool you. They are powerhouses. They are also curious. Keep one on a hook in the water and you can usually catch them all, culling the smaller and keeping the biggest. The other reason to keep one on the line for a while is to wear the fish out. A cobia still full of fight can wreak havoc in a boat. Let it get tired of fighting while in the water.

Homosassa Offshore Fishing

As the water gets deeper, the fish get bigger. Keeper grouper, especially around the rock piles, are a popular target for anglers. Snapper, triggerfish, amberjack and hogfish start showing up. These bottom fish like live and cut bait dropped right down into the structure where they hide. The challenge is to get the fish out of the rocks or shipwreck before it wraps the line around something and breaks off. Jigging is another way to haul the big ones off the bottom, but it is a lot of work. Fish like wahoo, mackerel, tuna, sailfish and mahi mahi are called pelagic fish because they stay in the top 100 feet of the water column. They also move around a lot. Most Homosassa fishing charters prefer trolling to find these fish. Once found, you can cast big bucktails with or without a piece of cut bait for scent. Casting to mahi mahi is particularly effective since they swim in schools and will stay around as long as others are in the water. Trolling is also effective on grouper and amberjack. If the troll gets a strike, that is a good sign other fish are also down there. Grouper and AJ run in schools. Where you find one, more are certainly nearby.

Book A Homosassa Fishing Charter

Ready to get out there and catch some fish? Homosassa is ready for you. FishAnywhere has the Homosassa fishing charters that will put you on the fish. It's up to you to get them to the boat.

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