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Offshore fishing report

By STEVE PAPEN
Published November 3, 2006

It's fall again, and the colder weather is on the way. This is a favorite time of year for fisherman in the west central area for many reasons.

The shallow-water grouper fishing should prove to be consistent this fall because of the abundance of bait we have seen both inshore and offshore all year. The best gag grouper action should be in the 60 to 90-foot depths. But look for some fish to travel into depths as shallow as 20 feet of water when the conditions are right. Much of the bottom fishing in these areas will be done on hard, rocky ledges. When the water temperature drops below 60 degrees, the grouper will become lethargic as their metabolism slows. When fishing this type of bottom, make sure to get as close to the structure as possible, as the gags will not move too far from the cover.

Snapper fishing has continued to be dependable in depths ranging from 70 to 130 feet. The mangrove snapper are more common and can be targeted on most ledges in these depths. If yellowtail snapper are the objective, try some of the deeper wrecks in our area, such as the Blackthorn or the Mexican Pride.

There have also been good numbers of these fish on the pipeline in depths of 100 feet or more. To target yellowtail, anchor uptide of the structure and deploy a chum block.

Use small sardines, with no lead, on light spinning rods. The key is to get the bait to fall at the same speed as the chum. Remember, red snapper season is closed, and they should be vented and released.

King mackerel fishing is in full swing, with new pods of fish arriving every day. Target the smaller fish on the reefs and wrecks in less than 60 feet of water. Live Spanish sardines, cigar minnows and small blue runners are the best bets for these fish. The use of a wire rig is critical, since these fish have a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth and will attack a baitfish at speeds up to 40 mph. A small 1/0 or 2/0 lead hook and a size 4-6 treble hook in tow should get the job done.

Pursue the larger kings closer to shore. In fact, you can also catch them inside Tampa Bay. This is where most of the tournament-winning fish come from. Fishing for these monsters usually requires more patience, bigger baits and heavier tackle.

The average 25-pound female king is 11-12 years old. Unlike the smaller fish, the larger kings will travel in small packs. These "smokers" have made this trip before and know the way well.

That said, there is far less action in these areas, and these fish have seen every trick thrown at them in previous years, so they are a much more wary of anything out of the ordinary, and thus they are harder to catch. These big kings are feeding on mackerel, mullet, and ladyfish in these areas, so that is the bait of choice, (match the hatch theory).

Another migratory pelagic species making their way south for the winter is the wahoo. These close cousins to the kingfish are making an appearance off our coast this month.

While trolling cedar plugs and feathers is an effective way to catch these fish, there have been many taken recently with different methods. While anchored up and bottom fishing in depths of 150 to 250 feet of water, we usually deploy a flat line off the stern of the boat. Baits include both live blue runners and frozen sardines or tinker mackerel. This method has produced many fish between 40 and 60 pounds. Slow-trolling live baits in these same areas has also worked well. Wahoo are one of the fastest fish in the world and will test your tackle with blistering 200-plus-yard runs, so make sure to have full and fresh spool of line when targeting these fish.

Steve Papen charters out of Indian Shores and can be reached at (727) 642-3411 or www.fintasticinc.com.

[Last modified November 2, 2006, 13:00:50]