    
Capt. Dave Pinkham
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 | | Posted on Thursday, August 09, 2001 - 11:54 pm: | |
Subject: Rainy, Windy Weather Should Shake Up The Fishing
Rainy, Windy Weather Should Shake Up The Fishing
By, Capt. Dave Pinkham
Fishing out on the Gulf over the past couple weeks was actually pretty good. Aboard my boat Legacy we're still hooking up on some nice sized kingfish including one that went close to 35 pounds. The funny thing was the fish hit a dead sardine that was free-lined off the back of the boat. We also lost several kingfish to big fish with teeth. The culprits that ate the kings were most likely sharks and or barracuda. Mixed in with this menagerie of fish have been hoards of little tunny. Although not prized for their eating quality, this smaller member of the tuna family offer the sporting angler an excellent battle on spinning tackle.
Following is sort brief synopsis of what you may expect to catch fishing offshore in Gulf over the next few weeks.
- King mackerel are still hitting along with some big Spanish mackerel. I normally prefer to use live baits or troll when fishing for kings, but as mentioned above they will often hit dead baits with a little wave action at the surface helping to give them some movement.
- Permit should be still holding around area artificial reefs and wrecks. The key here is the bait. They feed on crustaceans such as crabs and shrimp. Fishing either of these two baits under a cork helps suspend them over the
structure, and can be irresistible to a hungry permit.
- Grouper fishing this time of year can be productive; you just need to locate the keeper fish. Hard bottom out past 70' deep will account for most of the keeper red grouper. Keep your bottom machine running as you search for a change in the sea floor's composition. Any change is a good place to try. Drift fishing these spots on the calm days can be a good way to locate them. Red grouper will be scattered out on this type of bottom, so when you hit some good fish toss a marker jug. Now you can re-drift the area.
- Snapper fishing will be best over ledges, wrecks, and the artificial reefs. The biggest problem here is that the Goliath groupers have taken up residence on many of these locations. It seems that every time the snapper start feeding these huge grouper move in and take over.
- Sharks have been plentiful for those of you yearning for a battle. In the past two weeks we've hooked into and seen many different species such as lemon sharks, black tip sharks, nurse sharks, hammer head sharks, bull sharks, and one that we call a reef shark. Chunks of little tunny work great for baiting them on a hook. Remember to keep an eye on the weather as it can and does change in a hurry this time of year.
Capt. Dave Pinkham has been a fishing guide on this coast for more than 17 years. His Deep-Sea Charter-Boat "LEGACY" is based one mile from Venice Inlet. For Gulf of Mexico charter information call (941) 473-4603, or visit his web page at, www.charter-boatfishing.com |
