Captain's corner

By DAVE MISTRETTA

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 10, 2000

This week shrimp boats invaded our local waters some 20 miles from shore, producing large blackfin tuna, smoker kingfish and sharks. These gamefish will hover in the shade of boats, making themselves an easy target. When working one of these vessels, troll your baits as close as possible to the shadow line. This tactic will lure an impressive catch.

Groper fishing remains productive in depths to 60-plus feet. Best results have been early in the morning or late in the afternoon. There still are kingfish around so don't forget to throw out a flat line.

Amberjack fishing has been great offshore about 50 miles. These back-breakers are willing to grab a large blue runner or squirrel fish. While searching for jacks this week, we had a surprise. A blue runner was attacked by a large sailfish. After numerous jumps and a fantastic aerial display, angler Steve Dzudel landed his first sail.

-- Dave Mistretta captains the Jaws Too out of Indian Rocks Beach. Call (727) 595-3276.

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