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Trolling for grouper
By TERRY TOMALIN, Times Outdoors Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 5, 2000
[Times photo 1996]
Grouper can be caught along the shipping channel ledge.
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Old-timers talk about the glory days when they would head into the Egmont Shipping Channel in a 16-foot skiff and catch 300 pounds of grouper and still be home in time for dinner.
Those days are far from over.
You can still head out to the channel and troll for grouper in the shadow of the Sunshine Skyway. But the mistake most anglers make is that they actually troll the channel -- a nautical no-no -- instead of along the edge of it.
The drop-off is where you will find the fish. Grouper need structure for protection. That's why they cling to the rocky outcroppings or limestone ledges found in deep water. The shipping channel has a rocky ledge, too, right along the edge.
If you troll in a straight path, you might hit a fish or two, but if you run in a sharp S pattern along the edge you will cover more territory and catch more fish. Then, after you fill your ice box, you can head back to the marina and show off your catch.
When the landlubbers ask where you caught them, do like the old-timers, point west and lie, "Head west young man."
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