Captain’s Corner for July 11 Dave Zalewski 397-8815

On several recent trips we have returned with colorful boxes of fish which included dolphin (mahi-mahi), yellowtail snapper, mangrove snapper, and red grouper. All of these species have been caught in the 80 to 90 foot depth range either while targeting red grouper or on the way. The dolphin have been attracted to the boat because of the protection it affords and mostly because while bottom fishing copious amounts of chum are released by the loss of baits and the expelling of stomach contents caused by the pressure change when fish are reeled to the surface. Whenever they are seen either chasing a bait or a hooked fish being prepared is the key to success. These fish are 2 to 3 pounds and have correspondingly small mouths, so small 1/0 or 2/0 long shanked gold hooks should be used tied directly to an 8 to 10 pound class spinning outfit. A pair of scissors for cutting a frozen sardine into thin slices should be at hand when the fish are spotted. These small slices will serve to tease the fish, remain near the surface and not fill them up. Using chunks of chum will often fill them up or the chum will sink rapidly drawing the dolphin into the depths and out of the strike zone. The use of the above mentioned hooks serves two purposes, the first is that the long shank helps to prevent swallowing of the hook. The second is that many times the aggressive strike of the fish will strip the bait from the hook. When these fish are feeding we have observed many times their willingness to strike the flash of the gold hook as it is being reeled in to rebait .Most of our yellowtails have been caught by use of a 2/0 circle hook rigged “knocker style” with a small sliding sinker and a chunk of frozen Spanish sardine just large enough to cover the hook.