Outdoors

Daily fishing report

By DAVE ZALEWSKI
Published December 1, 2005

It looks like we will have to wait until March for kingfish to make their presence known. The fall run failed to materialize, and with plummeting water temperatures very few likely will be caught this season. Bait is scarce offshore, and bottom fishermen are going to have to resort to frozen Spanish sardines, squid and pinfish bought or caught.

Red grouper are closed to commercial and recreational fishermen, requiring recreational fishermen to target gags. Though the species are often caught together, each usually inhabits a specific type of limestone outcropping. Red grouper prefer the hard, flat bottom punctuated by potholes. Divers often see them lying on the bottom or staring from these holes. Gag grouper tend to inhabit higher-profile structure such as ledges and rock piles. Last week, when the weather allowed us to venture offshore, we targeted these structures in 60 to 70 feet of water and were rewarded with banner catches of gags, caught using frozen sardines and squid. When the bite slowed, a live pinfish or half a small white grunt produced the largest gags. The theory is the big, cautious fish lie back while the smaller ones, which are faster and less wary, feed heavily at first. The big ones are drawn to the commotion and cannot resist that big bait.

Mangrove snapper, lane snapper and yellowtails bit well in 90 feet on the tail section of Spanish sardines, along with several red snapper, which had to be released because of the closed season.

--Dave Zalewski charters the Lucky Too out of Madeira Beach and can be reached at 727 397-8815 or by e-mail at Luckytoo2@aol.com

[Last modified December 1, 2005, 01:08:09]