A waterfront rental set up for people who came to fish: no bridges, a cleaning station, rod racks, and a grill for what you bring back.
If you're the person who drags the boat to Florida to fish, the two numbers you care about are how long to open water and what's in the way. Here it's under five minutes and nothing. Straight out the pass, no fixed bridge, no drawbridge schedule.
Back at the dock there's a fish-cleaning station with water, rod racks in the garage, and a grill in the yard. Catch, clean, cook, balcony.
The Intracoastal behind the house holds snook around the dock lights at night, redfish and trout on the flats, sheepshead on the pilings in winter. A light spinning rod and live shrimp cover most of it.
No boat neededBoca Ciega Bay and the passes: tarpon in the passes in late spring and summer, snook and reds on the flats most of the year, Spanish mackerel and ladyfish when the bait shows up.
Skiff or paddle boardArtificial reefs within a few miles of the pass hold grouper, snapper, hogfish, kingfish in season. Big enough for a center console on a normal day.
Under 5 min to the passGag and red grouper, red snapper when the season's open, amberjack, and the pelagics on the way out. Flat mornings in spring and fall are the windows.
Out the pass, then keep goingFishing charters run out of John's Pass and the St. Pete Beach marinas, 5 to 10 minutes from the house. Half-day inshore to full-day offshore.
Book ahead in seasonSpring (Mar to May): kingfish run nearshore, tarpon show up in the passes, grouper offshore. The best overall stretch.
Summer (Jun to Aug): red snapper season offshore (dates change yearly, check FWC), tarpon in the passes, snook on the beach at dawn. Go early, storms come in the afternoon.
Fall (Sep to Nov): the second kingfish run, redfish schooling on the flats, flat calm days offshore in October. Stone crab season opens October 15: five traps per person, claws only, a free FWC trap registration plus your license. The Old Salt King of the Beach kingfish tournament runs out of Madeira Beach in mid-November, and the Saturday weigh-in at ROC Park is best watched from a boat.
Winter (Dec to Feb): sheepshead on every piling, trout on the deeper flats, grouper nearshore between fronts.
Red snapper: the Gulf season for private boats changes every year. FWC has been adding fall weekends and holiday windows lately. Check the current dates before you plan a trip around it.
Licenses: anyone 16 or older fishing from a boat needs a Florida saltwater license, which you can buy online in a few minutes. Charters cover you.
Yes. Private dock with a fish-cleaning station, rod racks in the garage, no bridges to the Gulf, and under 5 minutes to open water.
Yes. Snook under the dock lights at night, sheepshead on the pilings in winter, redfish and trout on the nearby flats.
Open Gulf is under 5 minutes from the dock with no bridge. Nearshore reefs are within a few miles; offshore grouper and snapper grounds are farther out.
Yes. Charters run out of John's Pass on the north end and the St. Pete Beach marinas, both within 10 minutes of the house.
Anyone 16 and up fishing from a boat does. Buy it online from FWC before you come. Licensed charters cover their guests.
Yes. There's a fish-cleaning station with water at the dock and a grill in the yard.
October 15 through May 1. Five traps per person, claws only, crab goes back. You need a saltwater license and a free trap registration from FWC.
Bait shops at John's Pass on the north end and the Merry Pier in Pass-a-Grille to the south, both about 10 minutes.
Brand-new waterfront house on Sunset Beach, Treasure Island. Sleeps 8. Bring the boat.