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Giant schools of baitfish have smothered the coastline.
Threadfin herring, pilchards and blue runners are accessible with either a gold hook rig or a cast net. The kingfish have many of these bait schools in a panic. Their only mechanism for defense is to play the numbers game. The frightened baitfish have been schooling in a tight ball close to the bottom, not daring to wander away from the pack. This makes throwing a cast net in depths up to 40 feet an easy task.
Hundreds of these great baits can be netted when they ball up. Use a three-eighths mesh so the small fish won't gill up in the net. An extended rope for the deeper depths will help you get to where the bait is hiding. If you can't throw a net simply jiggle the gold hooks and you'll fill every rig.
Multiple hookups of kingfish have been common for three weeks. I attribute this success to our bait-catching prelude. With the abundance of bait in our livewells, we can live-bait chum and get the bite rolling. We were able to get numerous still shots of the kings skyrocketing behind the boat. Normally this is quite a task, because you never know when these speedy macks are going leap from the water. But after an overwhelming amount of free food tossed behind the transom, the kings would go into a frenzy. Two days ago, the action was so intense, a 20-pound king almost landed in our boat.
- Dave Mistretta captains the Jaws Too out of Indian Rocks Beach. Call 727 595-3276, or e-mail sales@jawstoo.com