Hogfish Heaven

If you are looking for a good time on the waters in the Tampa Bay area and fishing is your thing then this blog is for you. Years ago the elusive Hogfish was only attainable if you strapped a tank on your back and dove in. But in recent times the driven fisherman with a taste for Hogfish who didnt want to get wet have figured out a remedy. Trial and error have worked it down to a science. Bent Charters is no stranger to the technique. With baited hook and excited customers we have been reeling in these beautiful yet so yummy Hog Snapper. This process involves catching numerous species of smaller fish till the Hogs get nosey and want to see all the action. You know when you are hooked up with these mighty fish. They pack quite the punch per pound!
   So if you want to get out but not break the bank on a full day charter then give us a call. These charters are for 4 or 6 hours and so much fun. The kids are great at it and they stay busy the whole time! Fish after fish after fish keeps them happy. We love to teach the little ones to reel in their own fish and hold them to say cheese! Your memories will last a lifetime and you will want to come back again and again.
   Having to do the Orlando theme park deal? Save a day and head over to Tampa Bay/Saint Petersburg area to Deep Sea fish with us. We have been described by customers as "better than Disney!" We are in Johns Pass area so you can fish for 4 to 6 hours and still have a little shopping time or stroll the white sand Beach. Treasure Island to Saint Pete  each has wonderful stretches of sand and sun fun!

Polarized lens for mobile devices worth checking out!

   Bent Charters is proud to endorse Mobile Polar'eye'Z lens for camera phones! After taking thousands of pictures of customers and their fish Mate Heather was searching for a way to reduce the glare just like polarized glasses. So she developed a polarized lens that adheres directly to your mobile device camera lens. You stick it on and don't have to worry about whether you remembered it or not. It's always there.
   The reflection off the water causes an enormous amount of glare and often washes out the pictures. Bent Charters loves to do everything to their best ability to make each customers trip the very best, so being able to improve our pictures speaks volumes! Often times our customers tell us how much better our pictures were than theirs! This lens is now for sale and I highly recommend trying it out. It retails for just $6.00 and fits on Iphones, Ipads, Samsung Galaxy S3, Samsung Note 2, HTC and pretty much any phone or tablet with a camera in it! Even older flip phones! Adds clarity to colors and depth in bright enviroments. It will not improve the resolution of your camera as that is set by the hardware of your phone. . . But I guarantee you will see a difference in more situations than you think. Surface reflection is greatly reduced if not totally eliminated.  The beauty is that if you WANT to still capture this reflection you can rotate your phone 90° and still get it in picture.
   There is a black line on the backing of the product to instruct you which way the polarity is. If you choose verticle positioning then your phone will take polarized shots when verticle and vice versa.
   Be sure to like Mobile Polar'eye'Z on Facebook
(WWW.Facebook.com/mobilepolareyez)

   And check out their new website for more info and to order yours!
CLICK HERE FOR SITE

   Retailers throughout central florida and the keys! More coming soon.

Great youtube video to see it change the picture right before your own eyes.  CLICK HERE
Bent
  As always be sure to like  Bent Charters Facebook page to keep up with what biting!

GOLIATH suprise for Matt with Bent Charters Fishing n Florida

Bent Charters "Good News" brings back great fish and makes awesome memories!

   Offshore with Bent Charters can make you want to keep coming back. John has been out with us before on several of our boats. Keeping an eye on the bite by following our Facebook page, he was ready to leave Ohio in the rear view mirror for the sun and action filled weekend in florida with his family and friend!
With 2 days reserved he was excited to get going.

   John with his sons and Mark with his boarded on Saturday morning not sure what to expect this time. John trusted that we would do everything to make a great trip for them.
   We headed out of Madeira marina passing through Johns Pass and off to our private traps. They were loaded with great pigfish and pins. At least a couple hundred fresh live bait to lure in the big boys!
   Running out to one of our honey holes 25 miles out was the first stop. The water was crystal clear and a deep blue. Conditions were perfect. A few freebie pins were thrown out and the show began. Amberjack were swimming everywhere... it was like a personal aquarium experience.! It didnt take but minutes to have AJs on for everyone. Fights were fast and fun. The box was loading up. Everyone got to muscle up fish after fish. Then it got real serious when one of the AJs was eaten by a Goliath (fka Jewfish). Apparently Zac, Connor and Drew had spoken on the flight down how awesome it would be to get one. Well the spot light was on and it was showtime. Connor and Zac fought a good fight and won the battle with the 300+ lb monster goliath. They even jumped in briefly with it for some pic opps. The excitement ran high and high fives in order.
   Back to business now. Drew found himself in the same struggle and was make headway on a goliath of his own. Pumping and gaining... SnAp... it broke off! Not without first wearing him out. Until you have felt this fish on the other end you cant begin to imagine the power.
   We hit a couple more spots and boated more AJs and barracuda. Sharks were all around too. Mark found himself in a battle of strength and endurance with a 6' shark. Getting video and some great pics we turned towards home. Needing some recouping our group was happy and ready to do it again the next day!
   Sunday morning came quick. Everyone boarding the boat again and heading out for more memories. The Gulf was almost like glass. Flying fish were out in numbers. What would today bring? With a refreshed sense and lots of gatorade we were anchoring up on first spot. Trying some bottom fishing at first. Tide was not moving at all. With a show on the machine but no bite to back it up we moved to another spot. Not much better. Red grouper that was too short and 2 mangrove snapper. Mark really wanted another big fight so we headed out another 10 miles. Huge Barracuda were looming everywhere! Shark were all mixed in with the AJs. Game on! We videod several 50+ lb AJs being brought in on light tackle shimano spheros on trevala rods. These awesome light tackle combos let you feel the action and power of the fight.  Within the mix John got his fight with another huge goliath that he managed almost all the way up and we saw it. It saw the boat and turned tail and powered back down and spit the hook! Even armed with a Penn International and 200lb test its hard to turn the head of a 300+ pound fish that is determined to get back to the bottom! All in all everybody got a handle turning experience on huge fish two days in a row!
   Getting back to the dock in time to catch their flight home to Ohio left one problem......70 pounds of fillets! So the fillets were packaged and shipped the next day by Capt Lance and Mate Heather to arrive 2 days later.
Bent Charters appreciates the continued loyalty of our return customers. We once again are happy to be able to have a hand in making memories that last forever!

   If you are looking to get out and make your own memories give us a call. (727) 614-6104 or (727) 235-9599 Captain Lance and Mate Heather would be more than happy to talk to you.

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Kingfish are crushing baits offshore and on the beach!

   Bent Charters has been catching the kings pretty much without fail! They have been striking anything from spoons to pinfish and cigar minnows.
   When our customers book a trip looking for action in 4 hours we offer up the choice of trolling for some kings and mackeral or catching small grouper. The kingfish is a much more sensational bite and experience.  When the kill the bait and your line starts smoking off you know its gonna be fun. Built for speed they bend the pole over as they run with the hook! It then becomes a battle of who wears who out first!
   If you have not had the experience of bringing in a king of your own give us a call. They are running hot right now. Book before their run is over. (727) 614-6104
   Check out our gallery of pics on Facebook or see our reviews on Tripadvisor.com.

Reviews for Bent Charters Fishing

   If you are coming to the Tampa Bay area and looking to soak some sun and fight some fish we are as your service! Bent Charters is a family owned and operated private charter business. We strive to make every trip just what you are looking for! With 4 boats to choose from we can fit your need offshore and inshore.  3 offshore boats are "Good News" - 40' sportfish, "Southern One" - 30' SeaVee and  "Grace" - 25' Delta.
   Captain Lance and Mate Heather go the extra mile in every way. Our customers are important to us. So every trip is a chance for us to make great memories in peoples busy lives. Whether you are a family on vacation doing the Disney thing and looking for something different. . . or a hard core fisherman looking to slay the fish . . We cater to your wants. Capt Lance has a wealth of knowledge and numbers! If you are not catching fish consistently he will move to another spot to stay in the action. Mate Heather keeps the hooks baited and takes great pictures to share. Both work well with children and count it a joy to help the little ones catch the BIG ones.
   Techniques are taught to newbies to ensure success. Catching fish like Grouper , Snapper and Amberjack is not luck... It is knowledge of the area and the right bait. Other fish in our waters : Cobia, Shark, Tuna, Mahi, Tripletail, Kingfish, Mackeral, Permit, Barracuda, and grunts.
   Inshore boat is a spacious 27' custom flats that takes up to 6 people. We do Tarpon and Drum target trips. More commonly we run 4, 6 and 8 hour trips for fish like trout, redfish, sheepshead, mackeral,  flounder. ..etc.
   You dont have to take our word for it.... Tripadvisor.com is a great reference site to check out. It allows "out of towners" to hear from actual customers how their experiences were with any given type of business. The Fishing industry can get flooded with "Captains" so its great to have 1st hand accounts from people.
   You are more than welcome to email or call us with any questions or concerns. Again. .. we appreciate our customers and prospects!

Heather Brooks
(727) 614-6104
Capt Lance Brooks
(727) 235-9599
BentCharters.Com

No shortage of fish!

   William called Bent Charters looking for a Captain that would do more than go for grunts. He was weary of catching small grouper and endless grunts on other charter boats. I assured him that we are known for going beyond the expected. We know the value of giving our customers the best trip possible. 
   Will, Matt and Paul showed up at Madeira Beach marina ready for an adventure. As we made our way out of Johns Pass we hit open water and ran straight to our private traps. We set bait traps to allow us daily fresh bait without all the time wasted trying to "catch" bait. That puts us ahead of the game already.
   A 30 mile run to our AJ spot and we baited up. Armed with live pigfish our hooks were dropping.  That beautiful sound of line screaming off the spool....FISH ON! The Amberjack were crushing baits left and right. Then Will had a different sort of bite....SHARK. Fighting back and forth for some 20 minutes his blacktip friend made an appearance circling the boat. After a few rounds she broke off, but not before we snapped some nice pics.
   Ok..ok...back to business. We pulled anchor and shot over to a few spots picking up Mangos and some nice keeper red grouper for the box. The Gag grouper we were having to throw back were up to 15 lbs. Season opens for them in July! Just about ready to call it a day and we spot a shark to the left and something hitting on the right. A quick pitch of a cigar minnow and the Mahi Mahi was on the hook. Will reeled it in and it was added to the already variety filled ice box.
   With Red Grouper, Mangrove Snapper, Amberjack and Mahi in the box we made the ride back to the Marina. Will, Matt and Paul were happy to have chosen Bent Charters to redeem their faith in Charters in our area of the Gulf of Mexico. We aim to please!
   So if you are planning a trip to the Tampa Bay area, St Pete or even Orlando we are worth the drive. Madeira Beach and Treasure Island has great beaches to visit and minutes from the Marina we launch from. You can even enjoy the Johns Pass village while your here.
   Check out our reviews on Tripadvisor or follow us on Facebook.
   Call us to book your trip ! (727) 614-6104

Heather Brooks
Capt Lance Brooks
Bentcharters.com