The next big date on the calendar of Tampa Bay fishing tournaments is the Old Salt Fall King of the Beach in Madeira Beach. The captains' meeting is Thursday, November 12, 2026, and the fishing is Saturday, November 14. After that come a December spearfishing calcutta at Gandy Beach and a run of charity inshore slams in the spring. Tarpon, charity and ladies' tournaments fill out the summer.
We checked every date below on November 5, 2026, against the organizer's own page or a public event listing. Some 2027 tournaments haven't posted dates yet. For those we give the usual month and last year's date so you know when to start watching for registration.
Fishing one of them? Sign up for our tournament fuel offer and get $0.50 a gallon off one fill before the tournament and one after it, delivered to your slip.
Tampa Bay Fishing Tournaments at a Glance
These are the tournaments around St. Pete, Clearwater and the rest of the bay with dates already published for November 2026 through June 2027.
| Tournament | Date | Where | Type | Who can enter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Tampa Bayslam | Fri, Nov 6, 2026 | Tampa Convention Center | See organizer | Sponsor teams |
| SPYC Saltwater Anglers | Sat, Nov 7, 2026 | Pass-a-Grille | Multi-species | St. Petersburg Yacht Club members |
| Make A Difference (adults) | Sat, Nov 7, 2026 | Pier 60, Clearwater | Pier fishing | Adults with special needs |
| Old Salt Fall King of the Beach | Nov 12–14, 2026 | Madeira Beach | Kingfish | Open, from $350 per team |
| FantaSea Shark Tournament | Sat, Nov 14, 2026 | Englewood | Shark | See organizer |
| FSDA Tampa Bay Convict Calcutta | Sat, Dec 5, 2026 | Gandy Bridge Beach | Spearfishing (sheepshead) | Open, $25 FSDA members, $45 others |
| The Waterman | Feb 26–27, 2027 | Bradenton Yacht Club (awards) | Fly fishing, redfish | See organizer |
| AdventHealth Foundation West Florida | Fri, Apr 2, 2027 | Hula Bay Club, Tampa | Charity inshore | Sponsor teams |
| Canterbury Cup | Sat, Apr 3, 2027 | Snell Isle, St. Pete | Catch-and-release | See organizer |
| Berkeley Prep Buccaneer Inshore Invasion | Sat, Apr 10, 2027 | Duke's at Hula Bay, Tampa | Charity inshore | See organizer |
| Fishing for the Fight | Sat, Apr 17, 2027 | SkyBeach Resort, St. Pete | Charity | See organizer |
| Tampa Catholic Fishing Tournament | Fri, Apr 23, 2027 | Hula Bay Club, Tampa | Charity inshore | $400 own boat, $900 guided |
| Fishing for Wishes | Fri, May 7, 2027 | Tampa Bay (venue TBA) | Charity | See organizer |
| Hooked on Health Care | Mon, May 17, 2027 | Venue TBA | Charity | See organizer |
| Tampa Bay Watch Tarpon Rodeo | Fri, Jun 4, 2027 | Tampa Bay | Tarpon | See organizer |
"See organizer" means the event's page didn't spell out who can enter when we checked. Charity events often sell sponsor packages alongside regular entries. Entry fees change every year, so confirm on the organizer's page before you count on a number from this list.
Fishing a tournament? Get $0.50 a gallon off two fills.
Tell us which tournament you're fishing. We'll take $0.50 a gallon off one fill in the 30 days before it and one fill in the 14 days after, delivered to your slip.
Two fills, $0.50 a gallon off each
One fill in the 30 days before your tournament, through the first fishing day. One fill in the 14 days after it ends.
Any fishing tournament, any boat on our routes
Any fishing or spearfishing tournament you’re entered in counts, including club events. Your boat needs to be kept somewhere on our fuel routes.
Sign up before your first fill
Tell us the tournament and its dates with the form. We confirm by email and set up both discounts on your account.
Order the normal way
Order through the Mobile Marina app inside each window. REC 90 has no minimum; our 50-gallon diesel minimum still applies.
One signup per boat per tournament
Fishing more than one tournament? Sign up for each one. The discount doesn’t combine with a price match on the same fill. If we end the offer, signups we’ve already confirmed keep their discounts.
November and December 2026
SPYC Saltwater Anglers Tournament (November 7)
The St. Petersburg Yacht Club's Saltwater Anglers Tournament (formerly the Bob Lee Memorial) was rained out in October and moved to Saturday, November 7. It's for club members only and scores points across 30 species, run out of the Pass-a-Grille clubhouse.
Make A Difference (November 7)
Make A Difference holds its tournament for adults with special needs at Pier 60 in Clearwater on November 7.
Kingfish Tournament: Old Salt Fall King of the Beach (November 12–14)
This is the big one for the fall. The Old Salt Fishing Foundation runs King of the Beach out of the Madeira Beach Recreation Complex at 200 Rex Place, and this year's is the 33rd. Teams go after kingfish, the captains' meeting is Thursday, November 12, and lines go in on Saturday, November 14. Online entry is $350 per team (one listing shows $425 for non-members).
Kingfish don't always stay close to the beach, and teams often run a long way to find them. That's a lot of fuel for one Saturday. If your boat lives near the beaches, see our Madeira Beach fuel route.
FantaSea Shark Fishing Tournament (November 14)
The Lemon Bay Sunrise Rotary holds the FantaSea Shark Fishing Tournament in Englewood on November 14, 5:30 to 9 PM. It's well south of the bay; check the organizer's page for the format and entry.
FSDA Tampa Bay Convict Calcutta (December 5)
The Florida Skin Divers Association's sheepshead spearfishing tournament fishes out of Gandy Bridge Beach on Saturday, December 5. Entry is $25 for FSDA members and $45 for everyone else. More on spearfishing events below.
Jingle Bell Kids Seawall Tournament (early December)
John's Pass usually holds this one on the first Saturday of December (it was December 6 in 2025). Kids 3 to 16 fish free with a toy and food donation. The 2026 date wasn't posted when we checked, so look for it in mid-November.
Winter and Spring 2027: Sheepshead, Fly Fishing and Charity Slams
Winter is sheepshead season around the bay, and two tournaments are built around them. Cloud Nine Outdoors in St. Pete usually holds its sheepshead tournament in early February (February 6–7 in 2026), with youth anglers fishing free. Old Salt's Johnny Kellar Inshore usually follows later in February; the 2026 edition was February 21 at Bay Pines Marina, with entry at $35 and $45.
The Waterman, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper's fly-only redfish tournament, is set for February 26–27, 2027, with awards at the Bradenton Yacht Club.
March is quieter. The Children's Dream Fund Inshore Classic was March 6 in 2026 at Hula Bay Club. Madeira Beach's Great American Grunt Hunt was March 21 in 2026, open to anyone, at the Madeira Beach Municipal Marina.
April Is the Busiest Month
From early April through May, there's a tournament nearly every weekend, most of them raising money for a school or charity:
- AdventHealth Foundation West Florida, Friday, April 2, at Hula Bay Club in Tampa (7:30 AM start, sponsor teams)
- Canterbury Cup, Saturday, April 3, from the SPYC Snell Isle Marina in St. Pete: the 20th year, catch-and-release, benefiting Canterbury School's marine studies program (fees not posted yet)
- Berkeley Prep Buccaneer Inshore Invasion, Saturday, April 10, at Duke's at Hula Bay, for alumni scholarships
- Fishing for the Fight, Saturday, April 17, at SkyBeach Resort in St. Pete, benefiting Beat Childhood Cancer
- Tampa Catholic Fishing Tournament, Friday, April 23, at Hula Bay Club: $900 with a guide or $400 on your own boat
Several April regulars hadn't posted 2027 dates yet. The Suncoast Kingfish Classic was April 9–11 in 2026 at SkyBeach Resort. Fishing Funds the Cure was April 9–10 in 2026 at the Hotel Zamora on St. Pete Beach.
The Larry Wilder Memorial for the Hillsborough Education Foundation ran in mid-April 2026 at Hula Bay. Pasco firefighters hold the Jason Tucker Memorial Inshore Slam at Hudson Beach, last held April 25, 2026. Old Salt's Spring King of the Beach, which comes with a free Kids Slam, was April 30 to May 2 in 2026.
Summer 2027: Tarpon, Charity and Ladies' Tournaments
Fishing for Wishes (Make-A-Wish) is Friday, May 7, somewhere around Tampa Bay; the venue hasn't been announced yet. St. Joseph's Hospitals Foundation's Hooked on Health Care is Monday, May 17. It was at Hula Bay in 2026.
South of the bay, mid-May belongs to the Crosthwait Memorial at the Bradenton Yacht Club in Palmetto (May 15–17 in 2026), which has offshore, inshore, junior and spearfishing divisions. AMI Rotary's Reel for Rotary in Cortez was May 9 in 2026.
Tarpon season brings the longest-running events. The Sarasota Tarpon Tournament held its 96th tournament in 2026 and ran all season, May 9 to June 14, for $150.
The Sarasota Slam at Marina Jack was May 29 to June 6 in 2026. The Suncoast Tarpon Roundup runs June through August, with its main event in mid-July ($600 a team in 2026). Closer to home, Tampa Bay Watch's Tarpon Rodeo is Friday, June 4, 2027.
June has the most tournaments of the summer, based on 2026 dates:
- Fire Charity Fishing Tournament, Bradenton (June 13–14)
- Rough Riders Charity Tournament, Treasure Island (June 20, at the Fusion Hotel; $300 plus $100 per division)
- Sheriff Chad Chronister's Fishing Tournament, Finn's Dockside in Apollo Beach (June 26)
- Old Salt Ladies Tournament, Caddy's in Indian Shores (fishing June 27)
The Suncoast Ladies Classic at SkyBeach was July 23–25 in 2026. August is mostly spearfishing.
Fall 2027: Inshore Slams Come Back
October fills up fast, and almost all of it is inshore. Based on 2026 dates:
- Make A Difference Kids at Pier 60 (October 3)
- CCA Sarasota Photo All-Release (October 14–17), where you photograph and release your fish instead of weighing them
- Gasparilla Bowl Inshore Slam, out of the Tampa Convention Center (October 16), benefiting Tampa Bay Waterkeeper
- Champions for Children Inshore Fishing Classic at Hula Bay (October 16)
- Habitat Hillsborough Veterans Inshore Slam at Finn's Dockside (October 17)
- St. Joseph Sound Flats Classic, Dunedin Rotary and the Dunedin Boat Club (October 30)
November brings back Fall King of the Beach and the Port Tampa Bayslam, which is Friday, November 6 this year, a sponsor-entry event at the Tampa Convention Center. Expect the SPYC Saltwater Anglers in late October in a normal year.
Spearfishing Tournaments Around Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay has a busy spearfishing calendar, and most of it runs through local clubs and the Florida Skin Divers Association (FSDA):
| Tournament | When | Where |
|---|---|---|
| FSDA Tampa Bay Convict Calcutta | Sat, Dec 5, 2026 | Gandy Bridge Beach |
| FSDA Ray Odor Classic | Feb 6, 2027 (on FSDA's calendar) | Gandy Beach |
| Suncoast Underwater Club Sheepshead Slam | Usually late Feb (Feb 27 on FSDA's calendar) | Bradenton area |
| Best of the West Charity Spearfishing | Usually early June | Suncoast Underwater Club |
| Tampa Bay Spearfishing Challenge | Usually mid-June (June 12–14 in 2026) | OCC Roadhouse, Clearwater |
| Suncoast Seals Southern Open | Usually mid-July | New Port Richey |
| St. Pete Open | Usually mid-August | St. Petersburg Underwater Club |
Winter events chase sheepshead ("convicts") around bridges and structure in the bay. The summer events head offshore for grouper, snapper and hogfish, so they burn a lot more fuel. The Crosthwait Memorial in May has a spearfishing division too.
Kids' Tournaments and Members-Only Club Events
If you want to get kids on the water, start with Old Salt's free Kids Slam at Spring King of the Beach, the Jingle Bell Kids Seawall Tournament at John's Pass in December, and Make A Difference Kids at Pier 60 in October. Cloud Nine's sheepshead tournament also lets youth anglers fish free.
A few tournaments on local calendars aren't open to the public. The SPYC Saltwater Anglers is for yacht club members only. Some charity events, like the AdventHealth tournament and the Port Tampa Bayslam, are sold as sponsor teams. If an event's page only shows sponsorship levels, email the organizer and ask whether they take individual boats.
We left out a few names you'll see online. The IFA, SKA and CCA STAR circuits have no Tampa Bay stop on their current schedules. A few local tournaments haven't run lately, like the Wild West Kingfish (last held in 2025).
How to Enter a Fishing Tournament
Most Tampa Bay fishing tournaments work the same way, whether it's a kingfish shootout or a charity inshore slam:
- Register online before the deadline. Popular events cap teams or raise the fee close to the date. Some charge more at the captains' meeting than online.
- Pick your entry type. Most events let you fish your own boat. Charity tournaments often offer a guided package too, like Tampa Catholic's $900 guided versus $400 own-boat entry.
- Go to the captains' meeting. This is where you get the final rules, boundaries, check-in times and weigh-in procedures. Some events require at least one team member to attend.
- Know the scoring. Kingfish events weigh the single biggest fish. Inshore slams usually add up a redfish, snook and trout. Photo and catch-and-release events score from pictures, so bring a measuring board and a phone with a full battery.
- Check licenses and limits. Florida's size, bag and season rules still apply during a tournament. Everyone fishing from your boat needs a Florida saltwater fishing license unless they're exempt. For season dates, see our Tampa Bay fishing seasons guide.
Fueling Up for Tournament Day
Tournament mornings start early. Check-in can be before sunrise, and nobody wants to wait at a fuel dock behind the rest of the field.
We bring fuel to your boat by water instead. One of our fuel vessels comes to your slip, lift or seawall on your area's scheduled route day. If your route day isn't close enough to the tournament, request an extra fueling in the app ahead of time. Our fuel is loaded the morning we deliver it.
There's no minimum on REC 90 ethanol-free gas, and diesel has a 50-gallon minimum. Check our service areas to see whether your marina or canal is on a route. If one of the public fuel docks closest to your boat posts a lower price, see our price match.
The tournament offer: sign up with the form above and tell us which tournament you're fishing. We'll take $0.50 a gallon off one fill in the 30 days before it and one fill in the 14 days after. That covers the pre-tournament top-off and the refill once you're back. Your boat needs to be kept somewhere on our fuel routes, and each tournament you fish gets its own signup.
Our guide to boat fuel around Tampa Bay compares the public fuel docks around the bay if you need a backup plan on the water.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The Bottom Line
Tampa Bay fishing tournaments run almost year-round, from kingfish in November to sheepshead spearfishing in winter, charity slams in April, tarpon in summer and inshore slams in October. Register early for anything with a team cap, and go to the captains' meeting. If you're fishing one, sign up for the tournament fuel offer or call us at (727) 761-1173, and we'll top off your boat at the slip before and after. Our goal is to keep you on the water, not waiting at the pump on tournament morning.
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