Season 7 Chasing GIANT schools of redfish on topwater with Peter Miller

On this episode of Bass to Billfish Got my red, that's a red. Oh shoot, I just had it. It's a nice fish. That top water bite is awesome. Peter Miller travels to the Guy Harvey Outpost, a Tradewinds Resort located on St. Pete Beach, to meet up with his guests, hardcore fishing kids Kai, Nick, and Logan. Good job, Logan. We need to troll motor down. Look at the sea of red right here, guys. Sea of red. Monsters. With the help of local captain Rob Gorda, Peter plans on showing these energetic kids the red fish trip of a lifetime. Florida, the fishing capital of the world. Oh, yes. With incredible fishing around every corner, this is truly an angler's paradise. Join Peter Miller as he travels the state in search of big fish. I caught that. And shares his adventures with guests from around the globe. Oh my God. From freshwater to saltwater, ocean to Everglades. Join him for a fishing experience like no other. This is Florida's Bass to Billfish with Peter Miller. Presented by Yellowfin and by Visit Florida. Hey, guys. Another Bass to Billfish episode with a stop at the new Bass Pro Shops in Tampa. I'm gonna go meet up with my friend Alyssa. She works in the fishing department and she's dialed in in this area. It's brand new. It's about 100,000 square feet in Tampa and it's an amazing store. How you doing, Alyssa? I was just talking about you guys. How are you? How you doing? Good, how are you? Good. What are you doing here? I am filming an episode here in Tampa. She's very, very good at fishing. I really like this guy right here, the Spook Jr. And she basically walked me around like concierge shopping. The whole design of the paddle tail is that it throws a vibration in the water. They're feeding really heavy. That vibration's actually gonna catch their attention pretty quickly and I'm pretty glad. People often wonder about the employees at Bass Pro Shops. Do they really know what they're talking about? Hello? In and out, I got everything I needed. It was the perfect stop. And it was really cool to be able to feature our brand new Bass Pro Shops on the show. For this episode of Bass to Billfish, we have a very unique group of guests. Hey! What's up? What's going on? How are you? Bring it in, bro. The brother and sister team are Kai and Logan. And he's 15, she's 18. And then Kai brought his friend, Nick, who's 16 years old. Can you believe we're actually fishing together? This guy's been hitting me up for a long time. They actually won this trip by going to the Yellowfin Boat Owners Tournament. And they had to compete and participate in this three-day event. And at the very end of it, everyone was given keys and only some keys opened up this trunk, which was the chance to go fishing on Bass to Billfish. Somewhere in the state of Florida. Didn't you hook a snook today? Yeah. What happened? How big was it? It was huge. It was like 40 inches and it jumped. And it went back in, shook its head and spit it. Was it really 40 inches? It was huge. Probably like 37. No, it was probably like 15. I was really excited to come on the trip because I've seen the shows before. Alright guys, so what we're going to do is go over to Rumfish. We're going to have some dinner and they made lionfish for us. But before we go, check those things out. Guy Harvey caught those both in one day in Portugal and they're granders. He caught them? Yeah, in one day. Who catches two granders in a day? Guy Harvey. I had to take the kids out for a good dinner. We're actually going to Rumfish, which is on the premises. Fantastic restaurant. But what was really cool was the aquarium setup they have in there. It's amazing how crystal clear the water is. That's got to be a lot of work. Specifically, they have a giant fish tank which is 33,500 gallons. And some of the species in that tank were the ones we were going to be targeting. You guys are taking a couple days off. Did I get you guys out of school for this? Yeah. Thank you so much. You're welcome. You're welcome, guys. Anything I can do to help you not learn. Doing the show instead of school is way better. It made it even more fun. In the skipped two days, it was awesome. I feel like there's going to be a lot of fish around. Hey, how are you? Peter. Welcome to Rumfish Grill. Thank you. St. Pete Beach. The head chef, Aaron Switzer, came out and greeted us at Rumfish. And he explained to us that we were going to be dining on lionfish. Lionfish is an invasive species. It's taken over the reefs in Florida. And actually, people are enlisted to basically eradicate these fish off the reefs. They happen to be delicious. It was my first experience and also the kids' first experience actually dining on these fish. Let me tell you something. It was phenomenal. So good. Yes, sir. Excellent. Excellent. We finished up dinner and we headed to bed early because we know we're going to be fishing heavy duty the next day. I had big plans. Wake up call at 6 a.m. So we're going to catch some fish or what? Coming up next on Bass to Billfish. Real, real, real, real. Just watch this amazing ballet of events going on. I call this the ballet of redfish. The fish go under him and you go over. And I'm going to be directing traffic around here. It's a good way to start the day. I think I like Tampa. I like Rob Gorda. Bass to Billfish with Peter Miller is brought to you by Visit Florida. Plan your Florida vacation today. NTV. Tire Kingdom. Merchants. That's all you need. Bass Pro Shops. Your adventure starts here. Raymarine by Fleer. Go hunting underwater. Peter Miller has traveled to the Guy Harvey Outpost in St. Pete Beach to meet his guests Kai, Nick and Logan. After having a delicious meal the team prepares for their epic fishing adventure. Fishing on day one we went down to O'Neil's Marina and we met up with our captain Rob Gorda. Good to see you man. Good to see you. The reason I chose Rob Gorda to be our captain for this trip is because he's very well versed in the area. What are you thinking today? What are we going to be targeting? We're definitely going after redfish. Okay. We have large schools of redfish around. And you feel confident that we might be able to find them? We can't find a redfish today. There's none around. Really? Yes. Okay. This guy is going to make it happen. I can just tell. First thing we have to do though we have to get bait. Where do you normally net the bait? Usually it's amongst the pilings ahead of the current. Ooh, nice current. Definitely got to be aware of that. I got to be honest. When we pulled up to the Skyway Bridge for him to be throwing the net on those baits there was a lot of current. I want to be able to see what this current is doing with this boat before I commit. Tell you what. What? Man, the splashes look really big down there. But in the area they call it whitebait. That's a pilchard. If you see flashes about like that that's what we want. But the current was rushing pretty hard. So I had to back up, back up, back up. But if you backed up too hard you'd actually pull the net up before they actually got on the fish. Alright, neutral? Okay. Neutral. Keep backing up. This is going to be ugly. You got some bait in there? Too many. The fact that he could open this big net like he did made all the difference in the world. And there's just thousands of them all scattered out through the boat. After catching bait we ran for about 10 minutes to our first spot. I knew that the fishing was going to be great because my uncle lives here and every year this time of year these redfish schools of thousands of redfish just gather up. And as we're rolling up to this area almost immediately he pulled back the throttle because he saw a big school of redfish. Rob's got these fish on lockdown. He does his research and we rolled up. It was like clockwork. It was like he flipped a switch. He's like, here they are. Let's go. Oh yeah, look at those tails popping up over here to the right. They're in the thickest spot. Oh, look at that one tailing over there. I guess these fish were just in a really happy mood and they were up at the surface having a good old time flashing their fins, tailing. A tailing fish is one of the most unique and coolest things you can see out on the water because you know they're feeding. They're stationary and it's just a beautiful moment when that tail's waving out of the water and you know they're burrowing down in the grass to try to find food. They're foraging and as they're wagging you know if you can get your bait anywhere near them it's going to happen. Real, real, real, real. Oh, Logan. Got a big boy. Immediately we're hooked up and I was really happy to see that it was Logan. I had the first fish of the day. Because I didn't want her to be like competing with her brother. I knew when she caught that first fish we were off to a great start. What do you got on there, bud? That's a good sized redfish too. To pull up on a school of tailing reds to start out a show is just the best thing in the world. That's a beast. That is a pig. Just watched this amazing ballet of events going on. I call this the ballet of redfish. Go under him and you go over. And I'm going to be directing traffic around here. It's a good way to start the day. I think I like Tampa. I think I like Rob Gorda. She's fighting it like a champ and she's getting this fish close to the boat and I'm watching it dart off and the colors on this fish are absolutely breathtaking. We've got a lot of fish we've got to grab right now. That's a good problem to have. Nice. You guys are leadering their own fish. Look at this. These are really good sized redfish. These fish were bigger than any of the redfish these kids had ever caught and they fish a lot. These fish were strong and just the whole ballgame of fish. I think Logan got the lunker. Logan, come up here with your bro. Nick's about to make out with his fish over there. What's nice about getting in a school like that is that you know you're going to hook up with multiple fish. Kai's on. Nick's on. Logan's on. I'm on. Fish were just sitting right there in front of the boat. I mean it wasn't even like we had to make a hard cast to get to them. I mean we literally got them to right in front of us and it just doesn't happen. They're not getting tangled. They're not crossing over each other. They're not messing up. The fish are coming to the boat one after another. They grew up fishing so it was kind of like fishing with equals. There's just no words to explain it. Holy cow. That is epic. Oh my Atlanta. Holy. Another piece. See that thing? Oh man. These are huge. Good job. We had six redfish coming to the boat at once and to be able to take a photo with six redfish with five people was pretty cool too. We've never done that. When you get into a big school of redfish like that your first thought is I bet you could catch us on topwater. Coming up next on Bass to Billfish. Got him. Oh yes. Topwater redfish. That topwater bite is awesome. Look at the colors on him. Bass to Billfish with Peter Miller is brought to you by Yeti Coolers. Wildly stronger. Keep ice longer. Mercury. Number one on the water. Yellowfin. Your legacy. The Florida Keys and Key West. Come as you are. Closed captioning for Bass to Billfish has been provided by Visit Florida. Peter and his guests are experiencing incredible fishing action in Tampa Bay. They've caught redfish on live and cut bait. But now it's time to use their fishing prowess to walk the dog in hopes of enticing a redfish to pounce on one of their topwater lures. There's nothing better than a topwater bite. And as it was coming through he's twitching it. You could see four or five redfish coming up. Backs out. Charging this thing. Kind of coming at us. Oh, got him. Got him. Oh yes. How good was that slurp? Redfish have an initial strike that is pretty awesome. Pretty fish. Oh yeah. And once they hit that bait it's just, they pull so much drag. And he fights his fish. He gets it to the boat. He's like, first redfish on topwater. I'm like, touchdown. Topwater redfish. Came in and crushed that zero spook. Oh. Silver mullet. Loved it. We got Nick. He said, there's no way my boy's going to catch a redfish on topwater without me catching one too. He's throwing, he's throwing, he's throwing. And it's just bad luck, bad luck, bad luck. All of a sudden, it was his time. Oh, he's on. Set it. Yeah, dude. We got more topwater action here. And look at those tails up. Oh, he's in. He had no topwater bite. This one on a skitter walk. This is awesome. Look at the colors on him. We caught at least 20 to 30 redfish and we released every one. A lot of them were over slot but there were a bunch that were in the slot. But, you know, you don't need to keep everything you catch. A lot of times when I see a school like that I'm so enamored with them I can't even think about throwing one in the cooler. So we let every fish we caught go. The kids got a really big treat. They were able to jump in the giant tank at Rumfish. 33,500 gallon tank. Like, you just like were looking at it and then like a couple days Peter was like, oh yeah, you get to swim in it. All the fish would just come up right towards you and be like right in your face and it was really fun. That tank is amazing. It's really cool to go in there and check out all the fish. The baby tarpon were my favorite for sure. What's unique about this particular tank is it was actually built and filmed for a TV show called Tanked. These kids are living large to say the least. Coming up next on Bass to Billfish. Look at the sea of red right here guys. Sea of red. Monsters. Got my red. That's a red. Nice fish. Biggest one of my life right here. Oof, congratulations man. Yeah, is that your biggest red fish ever? Yeah. See, that's what we're doing around here today. Bass to Billfish with Peter Miller is brought to you by Salt Life, live salty. FWC, Florida is the fishing capital of the world. Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association serving Florida's hospitality industry. Costa, see what's out there. Peter and his guests have caught red fish on bait and top water lures. Peter also had a surprise for his guests. A dip in the giant fish tank at Rumfish Grill. After swimming with the fish, the group will try for an upgrade in hopes of catching even bigger red fish. It was a start of day two and we needed to catch more bait. Every day it's the same routine. You gotta get the bait and then you can go to your first spot. So we went out and Rob just absolutely crushed the bait. You want baits, you know, this big, perfect size. You don't want the little guys because the fish are big and they can handle pretty much anything you throw their way. We've got so much bait, the walls are actually overflowing at this point. Every now and then when you're on the boat, you gotta change it up. We went through a couple of the bridge spans and we saw these little crabs floating by in the weeds. Hey Nick, we're gonna be able to come here now just you and me and fish those reds. You know? Because now we know where they are and what they're doing and how early to get here and what tide and all that. These kids are not unique in the fact that when they find a good spot, they want to lock it down. So they were looking at the coordinates and they were secretly off camera. I could hear them. I don't know if the cameras picked it up, but they were like, hey, this spot will come back to me. We know this flat now. Take a screenshot with your cell phone. Very true. You're gonna see us one day and be like, what the hell are you guys doing here? They'll be like, uh, I don't know. Rob was running my boat and he said, Peter, in this area, there's a school of redfish that are 34 to 40 inches all day long and I can always find them. Look, see that over there? Monster fish? I see him over here to the right. That's a big school of redfish right there. We need to troll motor down. Look at the sea of red right here, guys. Sea of red. Monsters. Then a porpoise comes up. He spooks them so he circles around and he's ready to eat one of them. So they circle. They come back to the boat. The big ones are coming at us to the right. To the right, guys. Coming at us hot. Get a bait in there. Logan hooks up with his beast. Very calm. Gets it to the boat. Walks around the boat. Around the trolling motor. Just like a champ. Don't have to worry about these kids whatsoever. Logan brings his fish up to the boat. We're all floored. What a beast. That's probably 15 pounds. 15 pounds? Wow. Nice job. I had the first fish of the day. They were way stronger than other fish I've caught. Good job, Logan. Yeah. Is that your biggest redfish ever? Yeah. See? That's what we're doing around here today. Got my red. That's a red. You got a red. Yep. Alright. Oh, yeah. I got a big red. Oh, yeah. He's nice. These kids were catching bigger and bigger and better the entire trip. Oh, shoot. He's heavy. You got it. You know you got problems when the fish is too heavy and you got to reposition your lungs. He's a nice fish. Oh, yeah. The nice thing is they're sticking with us. I think you just one-upped yourself, Nick. I think this is the lunker. It's just a beast of a fish, man. Nice fish. Definitely the biggest one of the trip. Oh, yeah, dude. Oh. Oof. Biggest one of my life right there. Oof. Congratulations, man. Thanks, Peter, again. It was an upgrade from his upgrade from his upgrade. Whoa, dude. That's a big one. Double spots on this side. Single big spot on that side. Congratulations. How big is that? About 36? Easy. Easy 36? Great job, guys. Came to Tampa, started out medium, wound up middle, and then giganto-sized redfish. Pretty epic stuff. You saw it here. This show is usually called a fishing show. I call this one a catching show, thanks to all these guys. Good job. Great job, everybody. This show was slated and directed and produced for kids to catch redfish. And when you're catching redfish of extraordinary magnitude like we did… It was a really good fish, man. …Captain Rob Gorda put us on them like nobody does. Big ones. Overslot. Jumbos. It was absolutely epic. This was like hundreds, and they would just come straight towards the bow, and it was just way different than I've ever seen. It was really cool. Tampa Bay has such a vibrant fishery. Oh, yeah. I got a big red. It's just something that you have to do. Like, you have to come down here and check it out. It's always fun to go fishing with kids because they get really, really into it. And to catch them their biggest and best redfish they've ever caught on a lure that they've never caught them on, especially topwater, seeing their heads come out of the water and eat is just phenomenal. They had a blast. I had such a great time fishing with them. And I'm a big fan of Tampa. Guy Harvey outpost here at Tradewinds in St. Pete. Just unbelievable experience. Great, great show. Thanks so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed the show. If you'd like to see more photos, videos, unseen footage, and to interact with us, please check us out on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. And also you can check us out on my blog at BassToBillfishWithPeterMiller. Thanks so much for watching. I'll see you out on the water.