Though most of the big-money kingfish tournaments have been held, conditions indicate there is good action to come. What they have lacked in numbers, they have made up for in size. During Saturday's tournament four "hawgs" over 40 pounds were landed, and it took a 24-pounder to make the 25-place leaderboard.
Bigger baits produce the biggest fish. We caught four Saturday on ladyfish. Other top producers were bluerunners, shad, mullet and mackerel.
Location of the winners varied. Many were caught inside 30 feet. Some were found while working bait pods and schools of juvenile mackerel along the nearshore waters of Blind Pass, Redington and Indian Rocks beaches. We caught a couple slow-trolling the edge of the ships channel between Egmont Key and the Skyway. A few were caught within 3 miles of Manatee beaches. Some were caught at artificial reefs by those willing to weed through barracuda and sharks. Staying off the main structure of these areas and working the perimeter can help, but some of these savages likely will find you anyway.
Mild cold fronts have dipped water temperatures to where kingfish like it. Thanksgiving long has been a favorite of mine to kingfish, and with a little help from Mother Nature we may be catching "smokers" for Christmas.
- Jay Mastry charters Jaybird out of St. Petersburg. Call (727) 321-2142.
