Captain's corner

By Rick Frazier

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 17, 2000

It's the time of year when beating the heat is key to bringing home the fish. If you plan on fishing inshore, be on the water by 4 or 5 a.m. and work the residential dock lights for trout and reds until the lights' shadow disappears.

The best live bait around the docks is small pinfish and grunts. Decent-size live shrimp are tough to get during the summer, and whitebait is too fragile to get more than one cast. Grunts are delicate, too, but it's hard to beat the noise those little fish produce once they're on the hook. Freelining is always the best bet for fishing the docks.

After you lose the shadow, go to swash channels that run parallel or through the grass flats. Work the drop-off edges. The water will be a bit cooler there, and it will hold trout, reds, flounder and, occasionally, cobia.

Small sharks also cruise these ditches, and they'll be ready to strike once you dangle a noisy grunt in front of them. A good idea for working these grassy areas is to use a float and have your offering just deep enough to keep it out of the grass.

Seeing pelicans, cormorants and terns sitting on pilings drying their wings or preening their feathers is a good clue about how the fishing is. It's also a good hint that it's time to head for the barn.

- Rick Frazier runs Lucky Dawg Charters in St. Petersburg. Call (727) 448-3817.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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