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Captain's corner

By DAVE MISTRETTA

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 3, 2000

On your next grouper trip take live shrimp. Common baits like sardines and pinfish will keep the grouper busy, but live shrimp will attract many other reef fish.

Porgies, mangrove snapper, yellowtail snapper, lane snapper, Key West grunts, sea bass ... on occasion I've even had a giant hog snapper (hog fish) gobble up a live shrimp. This fish normally will not grab a baited hook and is primarily spearfished for its great taste. A wiggling shrimp, however, will put it over the edge. A smaller hook and ultralight line also helps fool this keen reef fish.

Expect action like this for the next few weeks until water temperatures drop below 65. I can remember catching an endless bounty of reef fish between cold fronts on many December days.

There will be some shuffling with every cold snap, so be prepared to move around.

- Dave Mistretta captains the Jaws Too out of Indian Rocks Beach. Call (727) 595-3276, or e-mail sales@jawstoo.com.

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