It seems there are exceptions to every rule. Saturday, we experienced one. Generally, on the few days surrounding a full moon, anchoring and chumming can be most effective when kingfishing. Aided by faster tide, chumming can have far reaching effects. A 72-quart cooler full of fresh shad and a big enough crew to do it right still wasn't enough to get them going.

Several miles south of Egmont Ships Channel, crystal clear water and slick, calm seas worked against us. Extremely leader-shy in these conditions, the six bites we got didn't come until we began trolling. Somewhat camouflaged in the turbulence of prop wash, light line and leader made the difference. The two 30-plus pound smokers we enticed into chewing passed up full grown bluerunners to whack considerably smaller greenbacks.

Over the weekend, kingfish showed up from Sarasota to Clearwater. Favorable weather this week will shift our spring run into high gear with schoolies far outnumbering smokers.

It's always tempting to head offshore to find big numbers, and the "right one" might be mixed in, but now that it's tournament time don't overlook nearshore waters. Kingfish over 30 pounds don't tend to run in schools. They are stragglers that often cruise the beach alone for food and while they might not provide nonstop action, they'll get you higher up the leaderboard.

-- Jay Mastry charters Jaybird out of St. Petersburg. Call (727) 321-2142.

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