Captain’s Corner for November 12 Dave Zalewski 397-8815

Gulf of Mexico fishing had just gotten into high gear when last week’s cold front with its high winds brought everything to a halt. Both trolling and bottom fishing should quickly return to some of the best of the year. Gulf water temperatures have plummeted and that should push both the baitfish and their attendant predators into our area from the northern areas.

Kingfish, bonita, Spanish mackerel, and barracuda have been our trolling targets for the past month. Spanish mackerel and kingfish have been scattered for the most part and required some searching to find small concentrations of them. This all should change with the decrease in water temperatures. Spanish mackerel will be found close to shore near every pass entering the gulf and will be feeding ravenously on outgoing tides. Their larger cousins kingfish will be there also, but the larger schools of kingfish, not necessarily larger fish, will be found along the Egmont shipping channel and on all the artificial reefs and wrecks where the migratory baitfish have taken up residence. Cobia were beginning to be seen and caught on the artificial reefs just before the cold front hit and should remain in our area for several weeks.

Tip: Cobia are often found in pairs. It pays to keep a rod rigged and ready for whenever one is hooked. Our favorite has been a stinger rigged frozen sardine, retrieved just like the inshore anglers “walk the dog”

Gag and red grouper fishing no longer requires long runs offshore. Concentrations of them can be found in the 30 to 60 foot depths. They are willing to bite on almost any bait presented, but right now the larger ones find it hard to resist a large squirrelfish hooked just above the anal fin.