Outdoors

Daily fishing report

By LARRY HOFFMAN
Published October 16, 2003

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Offshore fishing continues to be strong with excellent catches of grouper, snapper and dolphin. Craig Lahr on the Team Gator boat had the best day of fishing this fall over the weekend. He was fishing in 96 feet of water over bait schools and caught 15 grouper, 12 mangrove snapper and seven dolphins, all over 15 pounds.

Bottom fishing continues to be hot from 65 to 95 feet and will remain good for the rest of the month. Lahr said their best results were with live bait, which are stacked up on our reefs and the Egmont Channel markers. Use gold-hook rigs to get all the blue runners, Spanish sardines and threadfins you'll need.

Kingfish are along our beaches. A few nice kings were caught off Redington Pier and Clearwater hard bottom this week. Spanish mackerel up to 7 pounds are thick from Clearwater to Sarasota. Live bait fishing using medium-size pilchards along with chumming should produce all the mackerel action you want. Look for little white terns known as "mackerel birds" diving on bait schools. That's where you will find the fish.

- Larry "Huffy" Hoffman charters out of John's Pass, Treasure Island. Call (727) 709-9396.

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