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Outdoors

Daily fishing report

One of my clients got quite a scare from an unexpected visitor this week. We were fishing in about 60 feet when something grabbed a frozen sardine. We thought a grouper had nabbed the bait, but after a few cranks it didn't seem right. The rod tip was slowly pulling down, feeling like dead weight. Convincing someone this excited he had snagged a rock, sponge or piece of fan coral was impossible. I repeatedly was informed he had without a doubt hooked the biggest fish ever. One minute into the battle, a 4-foot octopus crawled onto the tip, lunging at his lap. After the screaming and yelling stopped, the octopus was subdued. Explaining to the distraught fellow there was no such thing as sea monsters was the biggest task of the day. We had a good laugh once the ordeal was over.

The octopus is relatively harmless and quite common during the winter. If you come across one of these unusual animals, be sure to keep it. We cut the tentacles into 6-inch lengths and added them to our selection on the next stop. Instantly, a 10- and a 12-pound gag grouper inhaled the newly acquired bait. Dropping the tentacle to the bottom and slowly moving it up and down was the ticket to success. This tactic resembles wormlike motions, driving fish wild.

The 12-pounder was the biggest fish my client ever caught.

-- Dave Mistretta captains the Jaws Too out of Indian Rocks Beach. Call (727) 595-3276, or e-mail sales@jawstoo.com .

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