Captain’s Corner for June 29 Dave Zalewski 460-9893

Trolling for a multitude of species is a great way to take a break from bottom fishing for a part or even a whole day. Spanish mackerel have not been as abundant near shore as they have been in past years but still can be caught in the gulf by targeting areas near the passes on an outgoing tide which flushes many different baits from the bays into the gulf. Inside Tampa Bay Spanish mackerel are more abundant and can be caught near almost any type of structure by trolling small spoons, plugs or live baits. Barracuda have taken up residence on most of the artificial reefs and can be targeted by slow trolling live blue runners, Spanish sardines, and hardtails. Hardware trollers should try an assortment of lures including large deep diving plugs, tube lures, and large spoons 30 feet behind planers ranging in size from a #1 to a #3. Slow trolling live baits should be done as slow as you can go, hardware will be more effective at between 5.5 and 6 knots.
Gag grouper are now open with a minimum overall size of 24 inches. Most fishing for them is done by bottom fishing with live or frozen bait over structure. Trolling for gags is not often done except for a group of anglers which target the edges of the shipping channel inside of Tampa Bay. An often overlooked tactic is trolling for gags offshore in the gulf. The same depths should be sought out that the bay trollers find successful. 30 to 35 feet depths near the mid water reefs and the reefs themselves have produced some great fish since the season opened. Large blue or gold small lipped plugs, a skirted ballyhoo behind a #3 planer, or a large deep diving plug will both produce when trolled at 4.5 knots.