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Outdoors

Kingfish and mackerel are on their way

By ED WALKER
Published October 29, 2005

Cooler water is a welcome arrival. The fall migration of kingfish and Spanish mackerel had been running behind schedule but should be picking up as soon as the seas settle from this week's storm.

The most important factor in finding fish offshore is bait. The red tide and its subsequent hypoxic conditions wiped out virtually every living organism, including forage species such as grunts and spot tails in many areas of the near-shore gulf.

As the migratory bait schools return, they will help repopulate some of the rock piles. When grouper and mackerel move in from deeper water, they will bypass the spots with no food regardless of the structure. A small rock pile with a good show of baitfish will be better than a huge reef with none.

Anglers should pay attention to diving birds. They can be the initial indicators of the bait pods location. Gannets and pelicans are the most reliable since they seldom dive on ballyhoo or individual fish.

Two or more gannets will be as close to a sure thing as you likely are to find. They dive almost exclusively on subsurface, large minnow-type fish such as threadfin herring and Spanish sardines. The more of the gannets you see, the larger the bait concentration and the more likely the kings or mackerel are nearby.

The best bet for gag grouper has been to run though your known GPS coordinates and check each for signs of bait or any life.

South of Hudson, nearly all rock piles were dead last week. Off the Hernando Beach area, some spots were dead while others were stacked with gags. It seems the oxygen-deprived water in August didn't kill all the fish. The consensus among offshore charter anglers is that many of the fish simply moved away from the bad water. The theory is supported by the unusually high numbers of fish encountered when a live spot is discovered.

Inshore, fall conditions should make flats fishing even better than it has been. Speckled trout, a winter staple, have started to turn on.

Guides Mike Locklear and Jim Long report that the big specks had started to bite prior to the passage of the cold front. Fishing a two-day, multi-boat charter, their clients brought in limits of specks the first day and caught and released many more the second. Numerous redfish also were landed. Another great local fishery is stone crabs. Trappers are having a banner season, and sport divers have been taking home decent catches.

Snorkeling along rocky locations such as jetties or shallow limestone formations and looking into the holes will reveal these tasty crustaceans. Catching them takes some practice. Unlike spiny lobster that are easily coaxed out of their holes, stone crabs dig in deeper when bothered.

The most effective capture method is to stick in your hand and grab them. While this may seem like a surefire way to the doctor's office, it isn't as dangerous as it sounds. Stonies are slow, and a diver with a gloved hand usually can pull them out of the holes before the claws reach them. In the open, both claws are grabbed and the danger is gone.

The minimum size limit on the delicious claws is 23/4 inches from the tip of the lower point to the first joint.

Ed Walker charters out of Tarpon Springs. Call 727 944-3474 or e-mail info@lighttacklecharters.com

[Last modified October 29, 2005, 01:45:21]