Captain’s Corner for June 13 Dave Zalewski 460-9893

Now that school is out parents and grandparents are turning attention to providing children and grandchildren with different activities. Many people think of “offshore fishing” as requiring a long boring run to and back from deep waters to seek large fish. With kids onboard, this type of trip is not necessary because we have great opportunities to catch a variety of fish within 10 miles from shore. Spanish mackerel can be found near many of the passes entering the gulf and on the mitigation reefs that stretch from Clearwater to Indian Shores as close as 100 yards from shore, and also on the near shore artificial reefs that lie 5 to 7 miles offshore. Another viable alternative or addition to mackerel is shark fishing. During the summer months nearly anyplace that harbors mackerel will have a shark population that preys on them. These sharks are not all the “monster “ that we see in the movies and TV, but range from 20 to 50 pounds that provide a memorable catch and release for young anglers. The midwinter artificial reefs now harbor a population of barracuda, amberjack , mackerel, and bonita. Every one of these fish can be handled by younger anglers with light tackle suited to them. A wide variety of bottom fish such as white grunts ,grouper, porgies, triggerfish, and mangrove snapper can be found within a few miles of the reefs and often provide non-stop action for youngsters as well as harvesting some of these to eat. Taking kids fishing forges a bond between everyone onboard that is priceless. The look on a youngster’s face when they catch their first fish that has waged war with then (even though it was small) will never be forgotten.