We pulled up to the first spot, and our bait wasn't in the water for more than 10 seconds before we started catching fish left and right. But I may start doing more flat fishing if I can find captains like Captain Mark. I had never been flat fishing because I usually like to do the deep sea fishing charters. Our lunch meeting went longer than expected, and Captain Mark was very patient with us showing up late and he was ready to roll when we finally arrived. We were on a business trip to Tampa and were lucky enough to get on the water. Honestly, I do not know where to start with my review.

This was the best half-day of our week in the Tampa area. He provided all the bait (live bait that he netted himself, plus shrimp), rods, and drinks. Mark knew the spots like the back of his hand. He was on the phone with some of his guide buddies getting feedback on where the fish were biting. We hit six different spots in 4 hours, with varying success as Mark said, he doesn't like to sit around when there's no action. But Mark made it so easy for them, baiting and casting their lines and de-hooking the fish.

I caught a fair number myself and so did my wife I was the only one of the four who had ever fished before. He and his brother caught 30 fish between them (redfish, speckled trout, stingrays, etc). One caught a redfish on his first cast, and a 7-pound trout on his final one. (He recommended we go Thursday afternoon rather than three days earlier because of the weather forecast, which told me he was aiming for a great experience rather than to just fill his calendar with bookings.) And it was a great experience, especially for my twin boys, 12. Plus he has a 'no fish, no pay' guarantee. I compared his rate to those of some other guides and found they were similar, but I went with Captain Mark because of the reviews and he seemed like a down-to-earth guy. I e-mailed Mark to inquire about rates and availability and he replied that evening and called me the next day. I found Captain Mark (Newton) by Googling 'fishing guides Tampa' and finding four excellent customer reviews on TripAdvisor.

Fishing tampa bay flats