Strong winds from the east and northeast made it difficult to venture out this past week. Those who needed a fishing fix were restricted to shorelines and canals.
The north and south Sunshine Skyway piers, the Fort De Soto piers and the Redington Pier provide safe, motion-free platforms. They all produce best when winds are easterly. All reported large numbers of Spanish mackerel caught on live bait and spoons early in the morning and just before sunset.
Flounder are being caught by anglers fishing from the piers nearer the shoreline. Jigheads with a plastic tail or with a live white bait or small pinfish hooked through both lips and worked slowly along the bottom have been producing well. Pier anglers and the bait shop operators are different from other anglers in that they are willing to divulge their "secret" methods.
The kingfish action has been disappointing this fall as far as large concentrations of schoolies (8-12 pounds). Tournament anglers have landed a number of large fish but report there are long intervals between bites. This could change any day as the progression of cold fronts, which cause our windy conditions, make their way south.
As long as winds remain out of the east, fishable conditions can be found within a mile or two of the beach. Spanish mackerel can be found by trolling small gold or silver spoons or anchoring and deploying a chum block to attract them to the boat, where live white bait can produce nonstop action.
Whether trolling or stationary, one line should have a larger bait to target the large kingfish, cobia and blacktip sharks that show up when least expected. A blue runner on a stinger rig for those fishing live bait and a broken-backed gold plug trolled by itself without a planer often will provide that unexpected large fish.
- Dave Zalewski charters the Lucky Too out of Madeira Beach and can be reached at 727 397-8815 or by e-mail at Luckytoo2@aol.com
