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By TOM TURKE
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 24, 2001
Red grouper fishing is now in its summer pattern. To get decent action from keeper-sized fish, make long runs and fish deeper, hard-bottom areas of the Gulf. This means going up to 60 nautical miles out and in water up to 165 feet deep.
We have been catching red grouper up to 26 pounds on the flat, Swiss-cheese bottom that dots the Gulf. To fish deeper water, use a 4/0 reel and a matching 7-foot rod with a little backbone. The reel should be loaded with braided line, which has little stretch, compared to monofilament. This helps feel the bites and will allow for increased hook-ups. A 6-ounce weight and a 3-foot section of 100-pound test monofilament for a leader is mandatory. An 11/0 circle hook will finish your outfit perfectly.
Red grouper are not picky eaters. Fresh bait from small grunts, sand perch and lizardfish just about guarantees success. These chunks will stay on the hook longer than most frozen baits that can get pecked off quickly by the little nibblers. You really don't need live baits, but it doesn't hurt to bring a few dozen pinfish just in case. We have been picking up mangrove snapper and a few American red snapper on the same bottom. Red snapper, though not as numerous as a couple of years ago, are fairly large. These are running 8 to 16 pounds.
As a bonus for fishing so deep, you often encounter some pelagics. Free-lining a Spanish sardine while grouper fishing will generate interest from blackfin tuna, kingfish, and dolphin.
- Tom Turke charters The Mixed Bag out of St. Petersburg. Call (813) 854-5779.