I launch from Anclote Park in Tarpon Springs. There is also a launch at Phillips Park at Safety Harbor (probably closer to you).
There are two Launches at Tarpon Springs Lake if you want fresh water.
Good luck and tight lines.

Thank you. Great information.
We weren’t targeting shark. We were really out for Grunts, Mackerel and Trout.
The big boy showed up and one of the guys had a shark rig.
We must have been quite a sight. 4 seventy plus old men trying to lift that shark on the boat. We almost gave up several times.
We’ve caught smaller sharks, Black Tips, Black Nose and Bonnet Head. They were two to three feet and very tasty.

Went out of Anclote and tried Veteran’s Reef. Not much luck so went to Tarpon Springs Reef. It was better. I caught a Hog Fish and a Mackerel along with the usual Grunts, Jacks and Perch. Then my buddy hooked and landed the 80”, 200lb (estimated) Bull Shark. It took him 30 min and it took hour of us to lift it out of the water. We took lots of pictures, measured it and released it because we really didn’t know what kind it was or if we were allowed to keep it.
I had The Fish Rules app on my phone but it was so bright outside and we were soo excited, we weren’t sure. When we aren’t sure, we release.

Went out Monday to Veteran’s Reef. We fished mostly on the bottom (50’) with live shrimp and caught many good sized Grunt’s and Groupers. Groupers were too small to keep.
One of my friends decided to hook a Pin Fish on his line with no weight and just let it swim. Within minutes he hooked this 48”, 35 lb, Greater Amberjack. It took a while to get it in. They are out of season so we let it go after taking many pictures. As it was brought to surface, there were two more following it.
We only had 2 Pin Fish.
Going back Friday with a lot more Pin Fish.

I think it’s a Black Nose Shark. I blew up your picture and appears to me that the tip of it’s nose is black.

Welcome.
I lived most of my life in NC. Moved to Florida in 2019. I fish regularly and like any other location, sometimes you catch a bunch and sometimes you just enjoy being out.
I fish mainly from a my boat and go out of Anclote. I’ve got several locations marked and if one doesn’t pay off, I quickly try another.
I love a “one pole day”. That’s when the bite is so fast and good, you can only use one pole.
September is an excellent time of the year to fish.
Good Luck.

Three of us went out Wednesday with 3 dozen shrimp. We ran out of shrimp and switched to Fish Bites. This did not slow down the activity.
We grew a lot back for size, too small.
We kept 28. Mostly Grunts, and some Sea Bass. We threw back small Grunts, Perch, Puffers, Porgy, Trigger fish and flounder.

You can also try Fish Bites. You can find them at WalMart or any place that sells fishing supplies. It’s a strip flavored in shrimp, crab and other things. It’s a woven cloth flavored in your desired flavor. It’s hard for fish to remove. You pretty much have to cut it off of your hook.
I like it because I don’t have to keep putting live shrimp on. I catch just as many fish as my buddies using live shrimp at no where near the cost or aggravation.

I always have a least one pole with live shrimp. Use the jumbos if you can find them. I also use 4”pink Gulp (artificial from Walmart ). That’s all I’ve personally tried.
I do have a Sabiki rod and rig on the boat and can catch green backs and small pin fish for bait. I haven’t tried that yet. It’s so deep, I don’t think that would work unless I catch them before reaching Veterans Reef.

If you’re fishing out of Clear Water, fish Veterans Reef. It’s 11.2 NM North West of John’s Pass.
N 28.03.000 W 83.000.750.
It’s 50’ deep and lots of big fish.
I fish the bottom and drift. You don’t want to move too much. The reef is huge with tanks, planes, boats, ships and even military statues. So you can hang up on something pretty easily. Great for scuba divers.

Sounds like a great idea to me. I hope it’s not illegal. I’m going to look into getting a drone so I can do that.

Definitely a Blenny. Probably a Large Mouth Blenny
Look at the dorsal fin on your fish (gray fish) and how it changes size near the caudal portion. The Blenny fish (red) does the same

There is a 10 mile shelf that runs the length of Florida’s west coast. I go out of Anclote and have to go 12 miles for 20’ and 15 miles for 30’.

I have recently been going to Veterans Reef. It’s 15 miles from me and west of Clear Water. It’s 50 deep. There are some really big fish in there. I rig an 80lb line with a 100 lb leader. Even with that, I’ve had lines break and lines stripped.

Not in Florida if you own property.
A Florida drivers license is usually enough.

I’ll still be healing from surgery until the middle of July. We old folks heal slow. So maybe next time you’re in Florida message me.