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Daily fishing report
By DAVE MISTRETTA How can you not love March? Every game plan works for all captains, making them look like geniuses. This week we have brought an overwhelming number of giant gag grouper to the dock. The most productive areas have been in 25-40 feet. Clients have wrestled up more than 130 grouper on gold and chartreuse lures. Some days of trolling produced as many as 20, some tipping the scales at 18 pounds or more. Magnum plugs, which can dive at least 30 feet, have worked well. These monster lures require a stout rod and reel and at least 80-pound test. Let the lure out until it hits the bottom, crank it up a few turns and you are ready to go. Seven knots is the ideal speed, so it's not pretty when a giant gag strikes. This is when the heavy tackle comes in handy. After the grouper strikes, slow the boat to a slow idle before something breaks. Don't take the boat out of gear or the grouper will swim into the rocks, taking the expensive lure with it. Keep the boat moving until the grouper can be maneuvered to the boat. Have the GPS handy so you can record where you got the hit. We have caught as many as 15 fish on the same rock by returning repeatedly, and you can store the numbers for future trips. The magic water temperature of 71 degrees has turned on the grouper bite, so take advantage of it before the temperatures rise. Kingfish finally have made a strong presence along the Suncoast. Multiple hookups are common once they are located. The best way to find the kings is with a fast troll, so you can have the best of both worlds when grouper trolling. Run two deep-diving plugs near the bottom, two medium-depth lures or spoons and two flat lines at the surface. Be sure to bring some extra friends, because you will need the help. Our limits easily have been met for seven straight days. Another tactic we have been using for kingfish is live-bait chumming. Throwing a cast net around bell buoys outside the passes has produced hundreds of threadfin herring. Once the fish have been located by trolling, throw handfuls of the herring behind the boat. This is when the fun starts. The kingfish take off after the frantic baitfish, putting on quite an aerial display. A few days ago we watched a kingfish leap more than 20 feet in the air, so have a camera ready for a memorable photo. -- Dave Mistretta captains the Jaws Too out of Indian Rocks Beach. Call (727) 595-3276, or e-mail sales@jawstoo.com . Fishing (All phone numbers begin with 727 unless noted) TUESDAY: Port Hudson Fishing Club meeting, Port Hudson Marina, (352) 684-6243 or 856-1003. SATURDAY: 15th annual Randy Keys Kingfishing Classic. Fishing is at dawn, weigh-in is 4 p.m. at Billy's Stone Crab restaurant, Tierra Verde. Call 542-3900 for information. Seminars SATURDAY: Fly casting, Bill Jackson's, 576-4169. SATURDAY: Safe boating, Clearwater, 462-6368. SATURDAY: Fly casting, Saltwater Fly Fishers, 443-5000. THURSDAY: The Adventurous Woman, Saltwater Fly Fishers, Clearwater, 443-5000. Boating TUESDAY: Boating safety and operation, Hudson Beach Yacht Club, 869-3340. THURSDAY: Safe boating, Madeira Beach, 587-7873. THURSDAY: Safe boating, St. Pete Beach, 867-3088. Etc. SATURDAY: Guided hike, Weedon Island Preserve, 453-6500 or 453-6506. SATURDAY: Explore Shell Key Preserve by kayak, American Littoral Society, (941) 966-7308. SUNDAY: Gopher Tortoise interpretive hike, Friends of Boyd Hill Nature Park, St. Petersburg, 893-7326. MONDAY: Monday night at Mote, Dr. Erich Mueller on Reefs of the Dry Tortugas, (941) 388-4441 ext. 417. THURSDAY: Tampa Bay Spearos spearfishing club meets from 8-9 p.m. Call Bill Hardman at 344-3483 for details. DAILY: Tram tour, Boyd Hill Nature Park, 893-7326. -- Send information to Outdoors, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. All items must be typed and arrive 10 days before the event. Include event name, address and phone number.
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From the Times Outdoors page
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