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'Hurricane' loves stormy fish

By RICK FRAZIER

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 26, 2000

Hurricane" Jim Kelley isn't a boxer, even though his nickname may suggest it.

He is one of the most proficient anglers in the area, having fished the bay since the 1930s. Kelley picked up his nickname because he was born Sept. 4, 1935, during one of the worst hurricanes on record.

In 1967, Kelley won the Tampa Tarpon Tournament with a 106-pound silver king caught on the final day. He won a Chevy Malibu.

He has been followed. He has been harassed. Not by just one boat, either. Friends of the "Hurricane" tell of seeing half a dozen boats trailing him to his secret spots. Kelley usually would lose them by slipping through a narrow cut on a flat he knew about from his many years of running a shrimp boat. He enjoyed watching the would-be thieves run their boats aground as he motored to a favorite tarpon hole.

Those days are gone, but you'll still find the "Hurricane" casting for snook at The Pier in St. Petersburg.

Kelley and his father ran the bait shop on The Pier for 43 years, so he knows where the snook hang. It's not uncommon for him to catch 40 snook a night.

His biggest weighed 24 pounds. That's not bad for someone fishing with a plug.

Kelley only fishes at The Pier when everything is right. From October through December, when the weather is cold, windy, rainy and miserable for fishing, you'll find him there.

Two or three days after a cold front comes through is usually prime time.

"The rougher the water the better," Kelley said. "You want the wind blowing hard out of the northeast where the water is crashing upon the lower pier landing."

Nephew Ray Mucerino fished many nights as a boy with "Uncle Bub."

"I wanted to go home because it was so cold and windy, but Uncle Bub just wanted to fish," Mucerino said.

The water clarity at The Pier is also important to Kelley. He doesn't like it clear. In fact, the dirtier the better for pluggin'. He likes just about a foot of visibility.

During storms, pinfish, mullet and other baitfish swim along The Pier's shadow line created by the street lights. Snook come from under The Pier to ambush bait as it swims by, Kelley said. He thinks snook can distinguish the real thing from his plug in clear water and will ignore it.

Kelley's favorite plug is an old wooden floating/diving thing that isn't even made anymore.

"The newer ones are made from plastic and when the snook hit them they usually crack and fill up with water," Kelley said. "The hooks on the ones today aren't strong enough either."

His favorite color is a faded gray ghost. You can bet if that old plug gets hung up, Kelley will go for a swim. Just like the old wooden plug Kelley throws, his tackle is old, except for the new braided line on his conventional reel.

Kelley uses 50-pound braided line instead of monofilament. He likes the way it casts with his antique reel. It also doesn't burn his thumb when he tries to get that plug in the perfect spot.

Kelley uses his thumb as a brake. He stops the plug just before it hits the water so the plug stretches out and doesn't land next to the weight he has rigged in front of the plug. Kelley rigs his lure with a 7-foot, 30-pound steel leader. He usually ties on a 1-ounce trolling weight. The weight's job is to get the floating plug down so it runs about a foot off the bottom. Kelley's rod of choice is a 10-foot fiberglass stick few have heard of. It doesn't have a cork or foam handle like today's rods. It's wrapped with black squishy tape, but it works. Has for years.

Distance is what his technique is all about, and he sure can throw it with that 10-foot buggy whip. Kelley goes to the first balcony closest to the upside down pyramid on The Pier and heaves his plug down the length of the structure. He works his plug with the rod tip along the shadow line where the bait runs. Kelley likes to start just as the sun is reaching the horizon and stays until 10 or 11 p.m.

"The very best time is when the street lights first come on," he said.

- If you've had a great day fishing from land and want to share it with our readers, contact the LUBBERLINE at (727) 893-8775 or e-mail aptrick@luckydawg.com.

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