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Kingfish have come back to nearshore public reefs in southern Pinellas County.
There have been only scattered reports of fish more than 30 pounds but schoolies have taken up the slack. The reason is the water has cleared and bait has returned en masse. The predominant bait on the South County Reef has been large whitebait, or horse minnows. There are also Spanish sardines we call "kingfish Hershey bars" because a kingfish will not pass up a sardine.
Inshore wrecks also hold schools of barracuda, many more than 40 pounds, that can be caught slow-trolling live bait. They can put on a spectacular aerial show and are a great fight on light tackle. While 'cudas can be a pain and eat a number of hooked kingfish, release them unharmed. They provide a valuable service to the health of a wreck as a top predator.
The grouper bite has been strong in 130-150 feet with several fish more than 20 pounds last weekend. The gags have preferred live bait; red grouper have aggressively bitten an 8-ounce jig tipped with a dead sardine.
The exciting thing last week was reports of sailfish and wahoo caught offshore. Paul Rogers caught a 'hoo weighing more than 55 pounds 48 miles northwest of Pass-a-Grille.
- Mike Whitman charters the Mega Bite out of Gulfport. Call 727 384-5729, visit the Web site at www.megabitecharters.com or e-mail capt@megabitecharters.com