Outdoors

Daily fishing report

By LARRY HOFFMAN
Published October 17, 2006

What's hot? Kingfish have arrived on schedule and are busting live bait schools in 60 feet of water and deeper depths. The king fish have been good size s , 25 pounds and higher . The kingfish migration will peak in mid November , but for now enjoy the early season push. Grouper and snapper remain strong , and 85 feet of water is producing good catches of gags and mangrove snappers .

Tackle: Use high - speed retrieval reels with a 6-to-1 ratio for kingfish . The tackle allows the angler to retrieve line quickly.

Tactics: Slow trolling for kingfish means slow 1 knot or less. The slower you go , the more natural your live bait will appear. The type of live baits vary, but large blue runner s 2 pounds and bigger are great baits for big king fish . Light drags are essential : They're called smokers for a reason , and you have to let them make that big first run and then retrieve your line. That's when high - speed retrieval reels come in. King fi s h will turn and head back to the boat fast, and you need to get your line back and fight from a vertical p osition. Larry "Huffy" Hoffman charters out of John's Pass, Treasure Island. Call (727) 709-9396 or e-mail huffyl@tampabay.rr.com F or today's tides chart, go to www.sptimes.com/cgi-bin/ WebObjects/Tides

[Last modified October 17, 2006, 02:43:34]