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

The fall pelagic season where we can target Spanish mackerel ,kingfish, cobia, bonita, barracuda and several species of sharks started out great right on schedule around the second week of October with anglers reporting great catches on all species from waters as close as 100 yards from shore to the 70 foot depths. Schools of baitfish could be seen all over with predatory birds from and fish breaking the surface from below feeding heavily in preparation for their migration south as the water temperatures dropped. Strong easterly winds prevented us from venturing far from shore on several trips, but the fish and bait had gathered near shore seeking protection from the violent seas offshore. Both live baiters and hardware trollers reported in with great catches for all the migratory species except for barracuda which are particular in requiring cleaner water than was found close to the beaches. Strong north winds muddied up the water and put an end to the exceptional fishing we were experiencing.
All it takes is two to three days of lighter winds and the sediment will settle out of the water and fishing will return to normal. East winds will cause the baitfish and their predators to return close the shore. West winds will cause them to move offshore to the protection of the near shore artificial reefs such as Madeira Beach and Treasure Island. Bottom fishing, especially for the various species of snapper, had turned on for those downsizing tackle and should return as soon as we can venture to the 60 to 80 foot depths.