The winds and seas decreased to fishable levels last week, and offshore anglers successfully targeted grouper and snapper at every depth. Most who made the long run to 120 feet and deeper ended up with great catches of amberjack by fishing the springs with large live bait, then had to return to the 80- to 90-foot depths to catch gag and red grouper along with some impressive mangrove snapper, triggerfish and lane snapper.
The South County artificial reef and nearby Betty Rose held impressive amounts of bait. Large cigar minnows and Spanish sardines were at the reef, and schools of brightly colored spawning pinfish aggregated around the wreck. The baitfish could be caught with the use of a sabiki rig, with the pinfish best caught by adding a small piece of squid tentacle to the small gold hook.
The visibility is great because of the lack of algae in the cold water. Barracuda are swimming on the offshore wrecks but are unwilling to bite. This occurs every spring and is a harbinger of great things. Kingfish and Spanish mackerel make their presence known in force about two weeks after the 'cudas are spotted, and the barracuda start feeding with a vengeance as soon as they arrive. St. Patrick's Day is traditionally the start of trolling season, and from the events occurring offshore, everything is on schedule.
- 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
