Captain’s Corner for February 29 Dave Zalewski 727 460-9893

The persistent strong winds and high seas have prevented us from venturing offshore on most days, but when we have been able to some challenges have arisen. Bottom fishing for red grouper, white grunts, triggerfish; mangrove, Lane, yellowtail and vermillion snapper are the fish of choice to target at this time of year because of the water temperatures that plummeted into the 50 degree temperatures. Red grouper fishing has been disappointing because of their reluctance to feed because of metabolic slowdown and that many of them have moved to deeper slightly warmer water. A local dive shop operator reported that when they found a calm day and were willing to brave the cold water, the red grouper that they saw were smaller and very lethargic.
The water temperatures in the 60 foot depths have not affected the other reef fish that we can target. Downsizing tackle to 10 to 12 pound spinning or bait casting equipment as used for trout, mackerel and redfish will produce just as much sport and table fare as grouper fishing with heavier tackle. A two hook (1/0 or 2/0) snapper “chicken” rig with a 3 ounce sinker will produce almost non-stop action. The use of lighter tackle and the smaller hooks have been producing some unusual results. Triggerfish are now open and have a 14 inch minimum fork length to be kept. Yellowtail snapper are usually caught far offshore while targeting other species. The smaller hook rigs have been producing keepers (12 inches overall) in waters as shallow as 50 feet.. Strips of squid and small chunks of Spanish sardine have been the baits of choice.