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Kingfishing is at its peak. All depths are producing decent numbers with better results around areas with abundant bait.
The bell buoy west of Clearwater Pass held plenty of baitfish, allowing us to fill the livewells. Casting a 12-foot net over the schools at daybreak made the job easy because the baits could not see it.
A few days ago, our best results came around wrecks in 60 feet. Massive schools of pilchards and cigar minnows smothered the bottom structure, enticing bigger fish. Downriggers were not needed because baits were devoured immediately. Live bait chumming was the key. A few handfuls of live pilchards tossed behind the boat lured the hungry kings to the surface immediately.
As we left the wreck, more live baits were tossed, keeping the fish close. An abundance of hungry spinner sharks arrived, adding excitement.
After easily reaching our quota of kings and fighting a few huge sharks, we went bottomfishing. The 50-foot depths provided nonstop action of gags and reds. Many were just shy of the legal limit, but six were taken home. Not a bad morning of fishing in November.
- Dave Mistretta captains the Jaws Too out of Indian Rocks Beach. Call 727 595-3276, or e-mail jawstoo@msn.com