Captain's corner

By JAY MASTRY

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 11, 2000

If you are looking for a way to beat the heat, you may want to try night tarpon fishing. We did Thursday and ended up jumping four and caught and released three of them. The biggest we guessed to be 120 pounds.

I've done best at night during the three or four days before and after a full moon. (Which by the way is Friday). I'll typically fish some type of structure. Bridges often hold fish on full-moon nights. So do rock piles in the bay, oyster bars and some rock-laden edges of the ships channel. Many near-shore, hard-bottom areas that held kingfish a month ago now are fertile tarpon hunting grounds after dark.

Though you may not see rolling fish, you'll hear them on a calm night. There's nothing better than hearing your drag screaming and watching 150 pounds of twisting chrome come out of the water on a moonlit night. Have a bunch of rigs premade because tarpon aren't the only nocturnal feeders. You'll be spending some time battling the various sharks that also like to come out at night.

Plan a trip around a tide change and a solunar period if possible. Make sure your running lights are working and a spotlight is a must. Forget your hat, sunglasses and sunscreen ... you'll be home before you need them.

-- Jay Mastry charters Jaybird out of St. Petersburg. Call (727) 321-2142.

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