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Outdoors

Dark water conditions improving

By ED WALKER
Published November 19, 2005

The gulf waters a few miles off the Nature Coast have started to clear after weeks of unusual brown surface conditions.

While speculation about the cause of the dark water ranges from New Orleans run-off to red tide after affects or even the offshore dumping of contaminated water from the Piney Point industrial facility last year, it finally seems to be going away.

Fortunately for grouper anglers, the fishing has been unaffected by the poor visibility. The past few weeks, gag action has been spectacular. With the recent stretch of moderate weather, the pressure on the fish has been high. Many of the larger rock piles have been picked over and are not producing legal-sized catches.

Since grouper gather on a spot over a long period, they don't repopulate them overnight. It usually takes two weeks of no fishing pressure for any number of grouper to settle into a particular rock formation. If you reel up undersized fish with pre-existing hook marks in their mouths, it's unlikely that spot will produce many legal catches. Then you should move on.

Anglers targeting grouper should search for small, low-relief areas the average person would overlook. An untouched hole can yield 30-50 percent legal-sized fish. By continually looking for the sweet spot and not wasting time pulling up loads of "shorts" at popular coordinates, you're more likely to have a banner day.

The big Spanish mackerel the Nature Coast is known for during the fall have started to make an appearance. Look for them 4-8 miles offshore over grassy bottom or rocks. Large schools of tiny glass minnows and scaled sardines have been holding in many of the locations, and the mackerel have been working them over. Gulls and terns will help direct you to the action.

Once you get close to the feeding fish, cast a shiny jig or spoon into the melee and retrieve it quickly. Live sardines also are effective when presented on long shanked hooks. With the clean water present, adding wire to your rig will most likely put a damper on the number of bites you get.

Flats anglers continue to report great fishing for speckled trout, and cooling water should make the bite better. Deeper grass patches with good tidal flow generally are the most reliable spots. But due to their widespread distribution, specks can be found from the shallow salt marshes to residential canals at one time or another.

Cobia made a brief appearance on the flats after the last cold front. Prior to the temperature drop, they had been near deeper markers and wrecks. The cold snap sent many running for the warm water of the power plant outfall canals. As the outside temperature improved, the cobia came out on the nearby flats to feed.

Pompano are another discharge canal favorite. Late-night anglers have had strong action from small permit and pompano. Small yellow jigs tipped with pieces of shrimp are the favorite.

Schools of jack cravelle have been roaming the flats outside the Anclote Powerplant at daybreak, though commercial net anglers also have been there every morning waiting to scoop them up. Casting top-water plugs at the big jacks as they push across the shallow flats can be a great way to kick off a day of light tackle fishing.

[Last modified November 19, 2005, 01:07:13]