Outdoors

Captain's Corner

By ROBERT MCCUE
Published October 3, 2007

There has been the typical late summer and early fall redfish catches for several weeks on the pristine flats of Pasco and Hernando counties. Atypical has been the consistent presence of oversized spotted trout while hunting the reds in knee-deep water. These two species of drum are commonly found together after the first significant cold fronts of fall, Indian summer days of winter and early spring. The lack of cool fronts, however, makes the presence of these "gator" trout surprising. Outside limestone points leading into creek mouths and small bayous are producing best.

Tactics: Anchor at least 50 yards uptide of limestone or rocky points. Suspend a scaled sardine under a small float and allow the bait to drift across the point by opening the bail and allowing the tide to carry it distances too far to be reached by conventional casting techniques.

[Last modified October 2, 2007, 23:34:16]