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Action still hot as the weather

By ED WALKER
Published July 22, 2006

It's hot and thunderstorms have been chasing boaters off the water late in the day but good fishing has been reported from Crystal River to New Port Richey.

Speckled trout have been active over the deeper grass flats north of Homosassa. Many have been undersized, but persistent anglers have secured daily limits by picking through the small ones until a keeper comes along. Most of the legal-sized fish have been in the 15- to 19-inch class.

Small bluefish have been tearing up soft plastic lures in the same places the trout have been schooling. These tough and aggressive fish are welcome by some, but they can chew up quite a bit of tackle. If your jig body is trimmed repeatedly, try switching to a bucktail jig or even a small spoon. Both are more resistant to bluefish damage but will still draw strikes from the speckled trout.

The offshore action has been steady. Outside 60 feet, the red grouper bite has been decent over the flat hard-bottom areas. Look for bait stacks, which appear as pyramid shapes on most sonar machines, then drift the area with fresh cut baits. When the wind is light, drift fishing is a great way to cover more area and possibly discover new spots.

Red grouper often roam the open hard bottom, following the bait as it moves. By drifting you are more likely to find them than if you were to anchor and set baits in only one spot. If you happen to catch a gag grouper, toss a marker jug or hit the "save" button on your GPS. The gags generally hold closer to structure or holes that they can get into. Their presence may indicate such a hole or undercut even of nothing is visible on the sonar. Many of the best gag grouper spots are only a foot high but hollow underneath. These low profile spots are overlooked by nearly everyone.

On a dive trip this spring we set out to take advantage of the great visibility. The plan was to keep a couple of divers ready to drop as we ran to each of the dark spots we saw 12 to 15 miles offshore. When we pulled up to one, a couple of free divers would drop down to take a look. Many turned out to be nothing more than a patch of sea fans or sponges, but others were full of fish. On the two best spots we discovered, the bottom profile made little reading on the sonar but each held schools of gags. At a stop in 35 feet of water, a dozen big grouper rose halfway to the surface to check us out as we hovered above. Closer examination of the structure revealed a rock formation that was 15 feet in length and only a foot high at its tallest. It was completely hollow inside, similar to a table with very short legs. Since three-quarters of the fish there were legal sized it was obvious that it was not well known or fished regularly.

Scallop hunters report that things are still fairly slow in the areas that were productive for the past few years. These include the shallow grass beds outside the Homosassa River and farther north toward Crystal River. Those willing to move around and explore new areas, however, have had better luck. Several boat captains, who were reluctant to give too many details, reported catching their limits of scallops off Bayport in 6 to 12 feet of water. This deep water makes snorkeling more challenging but, so far this season, deeper has been better.

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

[Last modified July 21, 2006, 20:57:13]