Outdoors
Daily fishing report
By DAVE ZALEWSKI, Times Correspondent
Published January 6, 2004
[Last modified January 6, 2004, 01:33:37]
Hopefully 2004 will continue as it started: light winds, calm seas and fish willing to cooperate.
Gag grouper fishing is about as good as it gets. Water temperature has been about 3 degrees warmer in the depths of 80-100 feet than it was in the 40-50 range. This might be why fish bit so well in those areas.
It was difficult to anchor and remain positioned over a ledge because of the lack of tide and wind, so we targeted the larger hard-bottom areas that produced red grouper in the summer. Both gags and reds were found, with the best catches made near the transitional area where the limestone tapers off into the sand bottom. Frozen sardines cut in half combined with a small piece of squid on the hook were better than live pinfish on most days, though a live pinfish or squirrelfish dropped after the bite subsided usually started another flurry.
Bait shops are having difficulty maintaining medium- to large-size pinfish. This is an annual first-of-the-year occurrence, just like the arrival of kingfish and Spanish mackerel in mid March. The thought was cold water caused the larger pinfish to become dormant and the lack of movement makes it difficult to trap or catch.
On a trip to the hard-bottom red grouper area in 90 feet we saw what looked like a school of Spanish sardines. The depth finder showed a school of baitfish, from the surface to the bottom. Sabiki rigs tossed into the school revealed the baitfish were not the expected sardines but beautiful medium to large pinfish. The colors were as vibrant as those on porgies. It seems pinfish may travel offshore to spawn at this time of year, which may account for their shortage in January and February.
Once we discovered what the fish were, the addition of a sliver of squid to the sabiki hooks combined with a 4-ounce sinker resulted in multiple hookups.
- 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
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