Captain’s Corner for May 20 Dave Zalewski 397-8815

Gulf water temperatures have reached the low 80’s which usually signifies many changes effecting both bottom and trolling fish. In a normal year kingfish have pretty much left the area, except for a few which decide to stay through the summer, and are replaced by large schools of Spanish mackerel which can be found near any pass and on the near shore artificial reefs. In the past week scattered schools of kingfish have been the hot item being caught by anglers trolling spoons and plugs or live bait. It was not unusual to catch several kingfish during a bottom fishing stop by deploying a stinger rigged flatline with either a live or frozen Spanish sardine. The majority of the fish were “schoolies” in the 8 to 10 pound range, but we did put a 29 pounder in the box which inhaled one of the dead baits. Schools of Spanish mackerel are abundant in Tampa Bay but are very scattered in the gulf. Those targeting mackerel would be more successful in areas near the Skyway.

The severe cold weather last winter also has effected the patterns of the bottom fish. Normally we would be fishing in the 90 foot plus depths targeting primarily red grouper at this time of year. It has not been necessary to travel that far offshore to catch some keepers. In the 40 to 60 foot depths there are so many undersize gag and red grouper that they become a nuisance by getting to the baits before the keepers that are mixed in with them. Dropping a large bait such as a white grunt head, squirrelfish or large live pinfish usually triggers a strike from the larger fish once the bite has been established by the use of frozen squid and sardines.