Outdoors

Daily fishing report

By DOUG HEMMER
Published July 24, 2006

Mackerel fishing in the lower parts of Tampa Bay is hot. Most of the mackerel are in the 2- to 4-pound range. A light-tackle rod rigged with 30-pound leader and a 1/0 long-shank hook is all you need for mackerel. Start with a livewell full of threadfin or small Spanish sardines. Use most of them to chum the area. Rig the rest through the nose as bait. If the area you are fishing is holding mackerel, there will be surface strikes on your live chum. If this doesn't occur, look for a new spot where birds are working the surface. Check your catch for a lateral line that dips sharply halfway down the body toward the belly before continuing to the tail. If your mackerel has a sharp drop in the lateral line, it might be a kingfish. If it is a kingfish, it will be too small to keep and should be released. Go to www.myfoxtampabay.com and check out the mackerel video on "Fish and Chip" that shows the difference between a small mackerel and a kingfish.

The snook along the beach are getting harder to catch. They have spawned and won't strike a bait as fast as they did last month. When you find a school, cast your bait as close to the shore as possible and let it swim out to the snook. When this doesn't work, drag the bait across the surface and stop dragging when the bait is over the school. The bait will not spook the fish when it stops skipping and swims straight down on the school. This technique has produced most of our hook-ups lately.

Doug Hemmer charters out of St. Petersburg. Call (727) 347-1389.

[Last modified July 24, 2006, 10:32:40]