Clearwater Mid-Feb Questions

[grego]

I saw a post on the Mid-Atlantic Board from "En Fuego" & he mentioned that he was a Local in the St. Pete Area. This made me think that I should throw this thread down on this board.

I will be taking my Family (Wife & 3.5 yr daughter) to FL in Mid February for a Wedding in "Inverness." We decided that we would make a mini vacation out of it & fly down early and spend 3 days on Clearwater Beach; drive up for the wedding & then Fly back to NH Sunday evening.

I did a little research on the internent & all signs seemed to indicate that for inshore (backwater) Fly & light-spin fishing this is definitely the "off season".

The only species that I saw for Feb were Gruper & Cobia.

I guess my question is, given the time of year & limited time (3 days), am I making the right decision to leave the fishing gear home & do the quality family time thing?

Also some other questions:

Heard the the Clearwater Aquarium is a good take?

Any other good family activities that you could recommend, such as Kayak rentals, Natural trails, Parks, Backwater Boat tours? Specific recommendations would be Great!

Also, good Seafood Resteraunts Mmmmmm.?

I would like to get a feel for the lay of the land down there & then potentially get back another time "in season" for some fishing.

I have done some Redfish, Spec Trout, Snook fishing in Florida (Canaveral Area) and really enjoyed it!

On my "Wish List" would be to do Tarpon (or at least Baby Tarpon) on the Fly and/or Light Takle.

I am also looking at a North Carolina Trip, possibly this coming April.

Finally, If you need New England info on Stripers & Blues, give me a shout. I fish Boat, Shore, & Kayak all around Mass (Cape Cod) & RI.

Thanks, GregO.

[captmelsimpson]

Greg,

February and all winter long can be great fishing in this area for redfish, trout and some snook. Everything depends on the tides and the weather (wind). We've had a very warm winter, the water temp today was 68 so there are still snook available on some flats.

I fish from a flats boat so I don't really know the details about kayak fishing but there are a lot of guys that do it, and I understand there are places to rent kayaks.

Mel

[grego]

Thanks Mel.

Looks like the moderator edited out some content before I saw your (full) reply.

GregO.

[captmelsimpson]

Greg,

Email me. melsksig16@aol.com

Mel

[En Fuego]

Grego,
Just saw your post. Ditto what Capt. Mel Simpson said. If you have the resources it is definately worth getting a guide to you show you around.
If you are staying on the Beach ,try "Frenchies" for a good grouper sandwich. There is Pier 60 right on the beach that you can fish from and it is very family friendly. Caladesi Island is immediately north and worth checking out.You can only get on it by boat or Ferry. Kids might like the Pirate Ship cruise out of the city marina. Dont know about the Aquarium.
I live on Tampa Bay, immediately south of Weedon Island.About a 30 minute drive from Clearwater Beach. Our canals are packed with trout during the day and snook under the dock lights at night. I did hook a 40# tarpon on the fly this time last year in the canals, but it is the exception. Dont count on it.

Give another post as you get closer. or privately email me.

EnFuego.

[grego]

Cpt Mel & En Fuego,

Thank you both for you replies.

We are actully staying on the Northern Part of Clearwater Beach Island (off Kipling Plaza). I was just looking at the area on Google map & the gulf beach heading North as well as those Flats on the Backside heading toward Caladesi look mighty fishey!

To be truthful, I was hoping that you guys were going to say that I wouldn't be missing Anything fishing-wise that time of year. Hindsight being 20-20, I should have taken off more time & stayed more than 3 days! We got a really good deal on airfare by booking really early, so I doubt that I would be able to change my dates without a big fee!

I think I will take EnFuego advice & revist this issue when the date gets closer. If My "fishing itch" is uncontrollable by mid Feb, I'll have to contact Cpt Mel about an early AM excursion that wont cut into family time too much.

thanks again!