Outdoors

Captain's Corner

By LARRY HOFFMAN, Times Correspondent
Published January 21, 2008

What's hot: The winter weather has finally taken over our coast, playing havoc with offshore fishing. Look for outstanding action when you can get offshore. This week's forecast is not good, with cold fronts and high winds. The silver lining is that after weeks of bad weather, the fish will have had zero pressure and will feed aggressively. Target grouper, amberjack and snapper. Just before this latest front, fishing was excellent, with good catches of gags, snapper and amberjack. Action in 50 to 60 feet was producing excellent bottom fishing. During high winds, one good option is area piers. The other option is to buy a space on a head boat. The bigger boats can handle most of the bad weather.

Tips: There has been a lot of fog lately, so slow down. Have a loud horn and comply with Coast Guard regulations for its use. We use a horn that can be heard over engine sound when we hear a boat approaching. Although your boat has radar, you must slow down to reduce chances of hitting floating debris.

Larry "Huffy" Hoffman charters out of John's Pass, Treasure Island and can be contacted at huffyl@tampabay.rr.com or 727 709-9396.

[Last modified January 20, 2008, 19:53:08]