Last week's full moon, with its very strong tides, put a damper on the grouper bite for a few days. But bottom fishing has returned to normal. Calm seas have allowed us to run to 90-110 feet with mixed success. It is easy to overrun the depths where the fish are feeding.

Planning a strategy and sticking to it usually pays off. I found myself making the long run to 100-plus feet this week because the weather was beautiful, only to find the fish were either not there or not willing to feed. Returning to 60-65 feet resulted in happy clients and fish in the box. I should have made a few stops on the way out.

Speaking of stops, on a recent trip offshore, five were made before a fish was landed. These stops were made to pick up trash. We landed three mylar balloons that could have killed turtles mistaking them for jellyfish. Also found: yellow rope that easily could have become entangled in a propellor and a five-gallon bucket.

The bucket provided a bonus of several small dolphin seen hanging around it. It pays to investigate floating debris for mahi mahi and also to remove it from the water.

- Capt. Dave Zalewski charters the Lucky Too out of Maderia Beach and can be reached at (727) 397-8815 or by e-mail at Luckytoo2@aol.com.

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