Outdoors

Daily fishing report

By LARRY HOFFMAN
Published July 31, 2006

Offshore fishing is still your best bet. When grouper and snapper fishing are slow, the blue-water fishing is a good choice this time of year. Areas that traditionally hold good numbers of pelagic speedsters are The Elbow, Tuna Turnpike and the Hundred Fathom Curve. Trolling high-speed lures is the best method to cover these large areas.

Our weather patterns are fairly predictable. Getting a couple of good days of weather is just a matter of looking at the long-range forecast. Most storms offshore are isolated and easy to troll around. One technique we use is to actually troll in and around the rain showers. Of course, you should pick the rain showers that are not producing lighting.

Two things happen near showers: one, it cools you off, and two, the action on the water makes your lures look more natural. Ballyhoo trolled behind soft heads is a great lure for dolphin and wahoo; Jet heads and Tuna Tangos work great for the tuna. Skirt colors are important. Black and red, and red and purple work best on wahoo and tuna. Yellow and green, and blue and silver work great for dolphin. This is not to say other colors don't catch fish. But the colors mentioned are the most productive for us.

Start your trolling at first light with the darker colored skirts. Then lighten the color of your skirts as the sun comes up. Trolling speeds should be maintained at 8.5 knots and faster.

Larry Hoffman charters out of John's Pass, Treasure Island. Call 727 709-9396 or e-mail huffyl@tampabay.rr.com.

[Last modified July 31, 2006, 05:51:34]