Nature Coast

Captain's Corner

By CAPT. ROBERT McCUE
Published November 3, 2007

High winds and subsequent small craft advisories most of the week kept many anglers in port or close to shore. Seas are forecasted to subside through the weekend.

Best bet

Deep grassflats and relief areas around the 20-foot contour line are likely to continue to produce nonstop action from a variety of species. Spanish mackerel, sharks, cobia, spotted seatrout, grouper and an occasional snake kingfish likely will constitute your bag. Drifting with quarter-ounce jigs near the crab trap lines is a good place to start looking for action. A well full of live sardines is indispensable.

Chum them in

Once you have connected with a mackerel, anchor up and suspend a block of frozen chum from a cleat. Bait a couple of rods with live sardines on a long shank hook tied to a section of 60-pound monofilament leader and set the rods in the holders. Next, begin to cut or tear a few minnows and slowly disseminate them into your chum line. Once one of your rods draws a strike, begin to "sweeten" the chum line by taking a handful of live minnows and slightly squeezing them before tossing them out into the chum line.

Finding rocks

Prime locations of shallow rock piles are closely-guarded secrets. As with all fishing spots, the best ones are the ones you find yourself. There are several ways to do this. One method is looking for crab traps piled up together after prolonged periods of high winds like we have experienced this week. Crab trap floats twisted together or within a few feet of each other have likely been "crawling" on the bottom with the high seas and have now become obstructed on some rocks below.

Capt. Robert McCue can be reached at 800 833-0489 or www.GiantTarpon.com

[Last modified November 2, 2007, 21:28:02]