Outdoors

Daily fishing report

By LARRY HOFFMAN
Published August 2, 2005

Concentrate your fishing efforts in 90 feet and deeper to get reliable catches. Red Tide has wreaked havoc along this coast for more than two months with no relief in sight.

Getting bait may be your biggest challenge. Try fishing with gold-hook rigs for live bait in 60 feet and deeper over structure and wrecks. Nearshore bait spots in the gulf and inshore areas in and around John's Pass are void of bait.

Good catches of grouper and mangrove snapper are being landed off hard-bottom areas and small ledges to 130 feet. Dead and live sardines have been the bait of choice. For yellowtail snapper, downsize your tackle to 20-pound test and use small pieces of shrimp and squid. Bluewater fishing is in full swing; weed lines should be forming again after Hurricane Dennis.

Areas producing fish include the "tuna turnpike" 45 to 50 miles southwest of John's Pass for wahoo and blackfin tuna and the Elbow 70 miles west of John's Pass. Trolling is the best way to catch tuna, wahoo and dolphin. Dark-shirted lures work best early and late for wahoo and tuna, and bright lures trolled for dolphin are best offshore. Concentrate your trolling around floating debris, wind lines and tide rips. Trolling speeds vary, but 7.5 to 9 knots are proven to produce fish.

--Larry "Huffy" Hoffman charters out of John's Pass, Treasure Island. Call 727 709-9396 or e-mail him at huffyl@tampabay.rr.com

[Last modified August 2, 2005, 03:00:22]