Captain’s Corner for February 28 Dave Zalewski 397-8815

On every trip offshore last week we encountered scattered schools of large Spanish sardines and hardtails in the 40 foot depth range no matter what direction we took from John’s Pass. It was easy to catch them on sabiki rigs and proceed to the 55 to 60 foot depths where they were used for outstanding catch and release action from both gag and red grouper. Switching to light tackle, small 2/0 hooks snapper rigs baited with strips of squid or grunts, non stop action occurred from white grunts, porgies, triggerfish, sea bass, and an occasional mangrove snapper along with grouper that presented a challenge keeping them away from the structure. Although they are harder to clean than a single larger fish , the smaller reef fish all provide excellent table fare.

The early arrival of larger baitfish and unusually warm gulf water temperatures for this time of year prompted us to try trolling. South County artificial reef was a logical choice because of the depths where we had been catching the baitfish. Large amounts of floating seaweed greeted us when we arrived, making trolling with planers and spoons difficult. Spanish mackerel have arrived! Every pass over the tug “Orange” that we were able to make without weed fouled lines produced a mackerel in the 14 to 16 inch range.

Tip: There is no longer a marker on the South County reef. Coordinates for the reef and the structure scattered throughout the area can be found at www.pinellascounty.org/utilities/reef

Captain’s Corner for October 24 Dave Zalewski 397-8815

Huge schools of bull redfish in the 20 to 30 pound range have caused us to strop on our way offshore to target barracuda, kingfish, Spanish mackerel, and grouper. These schools of redfish have taken up residence from 2 to 4 miles offshore from Redington Beach to Pass-a- Grille and are willing to strike almost any live or artificial bait presented to them. There are several indicators in locating the fish aside from the obvious churning of the water when they are attacking a school of baitfish. If you are lucky enough to spot 2 or three frigate birds above some terns diving into the water you can be assured that the redfish are below the terns. One frigate bird above the terns is usually an indicator that bonita are below.

Tactics:

We have been using a gold King spoon 30 feet behind a #2 planer and a medium spoon behind a # 1 planer . These fish are so powerful that use of a small spoon or plug will result in straightened hooks. We also have a large shallow running plug rigged on a medium spinning outfit at the ready. Once the fish are located double hookups on the planer equipped rods are common. We have seen as many as a dozen other fish pursuing the hooked fish and casting the plug to them has resulted in epic battles on the lighter tackle.

These fish are well over the redfish slot limit and must be carefully released. Because of their size, it is best to keep the fish in the water while removing the hook and photographing them.

Captain’s Corner for 2-27-11 Dave Zalewski 397-8815

Bottom fishing for both species of fish that have an open season as well as those that have to be catch and release because of closure continues to be very strong in the 40 to 60 foot depths. Because of the grouper closure we have been targeting white grunts, triggerfish and mangrove snapper with tackle downsized to the size of the fish. On recent trips we have been starting out with at least half of the party with spinning gear rigged with 2 hook 2/0 snapper rigs attached to a 2 or 3 ounce sinker with strips of squid. The other half are usually given 40 pound conventional tackle rigged with 4/0 hooks baited with sardines to target both grouper and grunts. Just about everyone has asked to switch to the light 10 to 12 pound tackle once they see how much fun and sport it is to target these fish with appropriate tackle. We have always had downsized tackle onboard for children, but now we have regular clients asking for the lighter tackle. Now is a great time to take children and grandchildren fishing to enjoy non-stop rod bending action.

Baitfish are beginning to be seen near the Skyway and all over Tampa Bay and the near shore waters of the gulf. Scattered reports of Spanish mackerel striking these schools of bait and being caught are coming in and increasing every day. Water temperatures near Venice are close to the magic 72 degrees that we all look for and will soon be that in our area. When water temperature hits that mark the kingfish, Spanish mackerel ,bonita and cobia will be all here

Captain’s Corner for November 12 Dave Zalewski 397-8815

Gulf of Mexico fishing had just gotten into high gear when last week’s cold front with its high winds brought everything to a halt. Both trolling and bottom fishing should quickly return to some of the best of the year. Gulf water temperatures have plummeted and that should push both the baitfish and their attendant predators into our area from the northern areas.

Kingfish, bonita, Spanish mackerel, and barracuda have been our trolling targets for the past month. Spanish mackerel and kingfish have been scattered for the most part and required some searching to find small concentrations of them. This all should change with the decrease in water temperatures. Spanish mackerel will be found close to shore near every pass entering the gulf and will be feeding ravenously on outgoing tides. Their larger cousins kingfish will be there also, but the larger schools of kingfish, not necessarily larger fish, will be found along the Egmont shipping channel and on all the artificial reefs and wrecks where the migratory baitfish have taken up residence. Cobia were beginning to be seen and caught on the artificial reefs just before the cold front hit and should remain in our area for several weeks.

Tip: Cobia are often found in pairs. It pays to keep a rod rigged and ready for whenever one is hooked. Our favorite has been a stinger rigged frozen sardine, retrieved just like the inshore anglers “walk the dog”

Gag and red grouper fishing no longer requires long runs offshore. Concentrations of them can be found in the 30 to 60 foot depths. They are willing to bite on almost any bait presented, but right now the larger ones find it hard to resist a large squirrelfish hooked just above the anal fin.

Captain’s Corner for October 24 Dave Zalewski 397-8815

Huge schools of bull redfish in the 20 to 30 pound range have caused us to strop on our way offshore to target barracuda, kingfish, Spanish mackerel, and grouper. These schools of redfish have taken up residence from 2 to 4 miles offshore from Redington Beach to Pass-a- Grille and are willing to strike almost any live or artificial bait presented to them. There are several indicators in locating the fish aside from the obvious churning of the water when they are attacking a school of baitfish. If you are lucky enough to spot 2 or three frigate birds above some terns diving into the water you can be assured that the redfish are below the terns. One frigate bird above the terns is usually an indicator that bonita are below.

Tactics:

We have been using a gold King spoon 30 feet behind a #2 planer and a medium spoon behind a # 1 planer . These fish are so powerful that use of a small spoon or plug will result in straightened hooks. We also have a large shallow running plug rigged on a medium spinning outfit at the ready. Once the fish are located double hookups on the planer equipped rods are common. We have seen as many as a dozen other fish pursuing the hooked fish and casting the plug to them has resulted in epic battles on the lighter tackle.

These fish are well over the redfish slot limit and must be carefully released. Because of their size, it is best to keep the fish in the water while removing the hook and photographing them.

Captain’s Corner for September 9 Dave Zalewski 397-8815

It may have been the extremely cold winter that we are trying to forget or it may be a natural cycle, but the normal red grouper timeframe is far from normal. Several trips through the summer to the 90 to 110 swiss cheese depths which are usually teeming with red grouper proved disappointing and it was necessary to come back into the 60 foot range to experience the activity from the various bottom fish that we were seeking. Labor Day weekend proved to be the turning point for the deeper water fishing. Saturday mornings lack of wind and tide offshore allowed us to drift fish because of the inability to hold the boat in position. The slow drift produced many red grouper of various sizes ranging up to a 15 pounder and resulted in the charting of several new interesting spots.

Tip: Keep a marker handy and toss it overboard whenever a sizeable fish is hooked so that you can easily return to the spot and explore it more thoroughly. Experience has proven that there are usually more than one keeper on a spot.

Flatlines deployed while bottom fishing again produced a number of species attracted to the activity and natural chum slick produced when grouper are reeled up from the depths and the pressure change forces out their stomach contents. Smaller reef fish also become easier prey for the apex predators as they swim back down to the bottom. Barracuda, several kingfish, small amberjack, Spanish mackerel and sharks all were attracted to the frozen sardine deployed on the stinger rig.

Captain’s Corner for August 8 Dave Zalewski 397-8815

Great fishing exists for offshore anglers who do not wish to make the budget breaking run far offshore. Spanish mackerel, barracuda, bonita and a few kingfish can be found on all of the near shore artificial reefs as long as there is a concentration of bait hovering over the various structures including large culverts, junction boxes, bridge pilings, concrete light poles, and on some of them barges and obsolete military tanks which were placed their by our artificial reef program. Tell tale signs that bait is present are birds diving or seeing the bait being pushed to the surface by predators. Oftentimes these signs will not be present on the surface and it is necessary to search out the cloud of bait by the use of a fish finder.

Two methods are successful when fishing these reefs. The most popular and easiest is to troll small (#0 or #1) spoons 30 feet behind a #1 or #2 planer at a speed of 6 knots. Once a fish is hooked using the MOB button on the GPS will insure a return to where the fish are located. The other is to locate a piece of structure that is holding bait, use a sabiki rig to catch bait and deploy it by use of a flatline.

Tip:

The location of the artificial reefs can be found on most charts and on many websites. The published GPS number is for the center of the reef. These reefs had material scattered all over a rectangular area that was 2000 feet long running north to south and 300 feet wide from east to west.

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.

Captain’s Corner for May 7 Dave Zalewski 397-8815

What’s Hot:

Both bottom fishing and trolling are on fire right now. It would be difficult to choose between the two methods because of the multitude of species available to the average offshore angler. Kingfish and Spanish mackerel can readily be caught trolling either live or artificial baits by anglers targeting bait piles as close to 100 yards from shore all the way out to the 80 to 90 foot depths. It pays to “match the hatch” by fishing with sabiki caught live baits from the area you are fishing or determining what size bait the fish are feeding on and adjusting the size of plugs and spoons to match.

Bottom fishing for gag grouper remains strong in the 50 to 60 foot depths. Keeper red grouper (20 inch overall length) have begun to take up residence on their usual summertime haunts on relatively flat limestone areas in the 80 to 90 foot depths. Downsizing tackle when targeting grouper will produce white grunts, triggerfish, mangrove snapper along with some yellowtail snapper. Deploying a stinger rigged flatline with either a live or frozen sardine while bottom fishing may often result in an incidental limit of kingfish which are attracted to the activity and chum slick created in the entire water column. Keep a sharp lookout for cobia which may be attracted to the shelter of the anchored boat and may not be visible until you are leaving a spot. Casting a live or frozen bait to them will usually produce a strike.

When speaking of trolling for gag grouper, thoughts immediately turn to the edges of the Egmont Shipping Channel in 30 to 40 feet of water. Similar results can be had by targeting hard bottom areas offshore in the same depths. Trolling gold jointed plugs, large curly tailed jigs and Sea-witch/ballyhoo combinations behind a #4 planer while moving between bottom spots has recently produced some impressive gags.

Captain’s Corner for May 4 Dave Zalewski 397-8815

Kingfish and Spanish mackerel have arrived off our coastline in good numbers, but have remained scattered in smaller schools at all of the traditional spots. They can be found all along the edges of the shipping channel leading to Tampa especially near the buoys which harbor baitfish seeking shelter near the chain which anchors them to the bottom. All of the artificial reefs whether they are near shore such as St Pete Beach, Treasure Island, Madeira Beach or Dunedin or mid-water like South County, Indian Shores, Rube Allyn and Veterans are great places to try.

Tactics:

Because the fish seem to be in smaller schools, we have been targeting them by the use of different types of “hardware” as opposed to slow trolling live bait. Trolling 2 planers ranging in size from #1 to 3 followed by spoons or plugs at 6 knots along with a surface line that will have a small lipped plug, trolling lead and spoon, or a ballyhoo will allow us to cover more territory when searching for these concentrations of fish. Hitting the MOB (man overboard ) button on the GPS as soon as a strike occurs will enable you to return to the position where the fish are located.

Tip:

Keep an eye out for cobia whenever trolling near any marker at this time of year. If they are spotted and do not strike hardware, return to the marker prepared to pitch a live or frozen sardine to them.