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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 30, 2001
The Tampa Bay shipping channel is loaded with threadfins and scaled sardines. Most of the big pods are north of the Gandy bridge, but that will change as the water gets cooler. The schools are moving out and heading south for the winter.
Grouper and kingfish like to follow the bait as it moves through the shipping channel. The grouper like to hide on the upper edges of the channel. In most parts of the bay, that will mean targeting the 26-32 foot range that falls on the drop-off into the channel. Trolling big gold plugs on a No. 3 planner or large green jigs with a feather on a down rigger has been producing gags in the 6-10 pound range. Troll the planner at 1,200-1,500 rpms and the jigs at 900 or slower. The kings will be closer to the Sunshine Skyway. Most times the number of fish will be small, but the sizes are large. Slow trolling is productive when the tides are slack. If your tides are strong, drop anchor and break out the chum.
Water temperature north of Clearwater isaround 72 degrees. The main run is hanging in this area. The next cool front should push the schools south.
-- Doug Hemmer charters out of St. Petersburg. Call (727) 347-1389.