Outdoors

Good weather means variety available daily

By LARRY HOFFMAN, Times Correspondent
Published November 23, 2007

OFFSHORE 

The fishing this fall has been outstanding. Not only have the kingfish and Spanish mackerel been outstanding, the grouper and snapper fishing also continues to be excellent.

Amberjack fishing over wrecks and springs is good as keeper-sized fish have moved from depths of 150 feet of water to 80 and 90 feet.

Some cobia are still in our area, although most have moved south. In their place, blackfin tuna have picked up the slack in 80 to 120 feet of water. While fishing for kings in 85 feet this past week we were rewarded with three tuna, including one of 27 pounds, by slow-tolling live Spanish sardines.

This time of year is great for all day trips. With a good weather forecast, plan on mixing up your day. Check the tides and make your moves during slack tide.

Start your morning by using live bait for kingfish. Light tackle - 20-pound test with 30-pound wire leaders - works for us. Light tackle and light drags catch a lot more fish than heavy tackle. The light tackle allows for better presentation of your live baits.

Live blue runners and Spanish sardines are the trick for offshore fishing. Nearshore we like to match the local bait - threadfins and pilchards have been plentiful along our beaches. Throwing a cast net before sun-up will get you a day's supply of live baits.

Transition to bottom fishing mid morning and fish over small ledges and cheese rock areas for good to excellent fishing. Start with dead baits and deploy a chum bag off your transom. Use 50- to 60-pound class tackle for your bottom fishing with just enough weight to keep your baits on the bottom. Flurocarbon leaders with No. 5/0 and 6/0 hooks should get the job done. While grouper fishing, don't be surprised if your chum bag attracts sharks, tunas and kingfish. Deploy flat lines with live Spanish sardines. While grouper fishing on our last trip, we caught and released three blacktip sharks, one reef shark and two spinner sharks. The spinner sharks put on a great aerial display and are lots of fun to catch.

Snapper fishing for mangrove snapper and yellowtail has been outstanding. We have experienced a great red snapper season and have had to release numerous red snapper. Cut up pieces of dead sardines and rig it on 30-pound class tackle with No. 2/0 and 3/0 hooks with a green glow bead just in front of the hook.

Amberjack are over springs and wrecks in 80 to 90 feet of water right now. Live baits, such as big blue runners, are preferred, but a large pinfish will also work. Fighting belts, 60-pound tackle and smooth drags work best. Leader lengths can vary, but a good rule of thumb is 6 feet leaders get the bait far enough away from your sinker. If the bite is slow, drop your hook size from 6/0 to 3/0 and reduce your leader size.

Larry "Huffy" Hoffman charters out of John's Pass, Treasure Island.  Call (727) 709-9396 or email him at huffyl@tampabay.rr.com.

[Last modified November 23, 2007, 12:12:46]