archiv00

January	February	March	April	May	June
July	August	September	October	November	December

There is not a lot I can say about the last couple of weeks fishing. Windy and cold conditions have kept us off the water for most of the time. When we did get out, we found the bay and inshore fishing very slow with just a few sheepshead, black drum and redfish being caught around the docks. In the passes, an occasional pompano and on the grass flats a few sea trout, but not much.

Offshore fishing in 40-60 feet was much better if you could handle the ride. Grouper and snapper could be caught around the ledges, hard bottom and artificial reefs. Anchoring up and fishing with live or cut bait on the bottom worked but there were few days that this could be done with any comfort.

In the past, we had bluefish to fill-in during the cold windy weather but not in the last couple of years. For the next few months it should be a matter of good weather equals good fishing. We should see sheepshead, black drum, redfish, pompano flounder and trout fishing steadily improve inshore as we move through the winter but the cold fronts will knock us down from time to time.

During the week there were some very nice fish caught but there have also been days like Thursday, when you could hardly loose a bait. Except for the pompano there has been not much of a pattern to the inshore bite. Pompano and permit have been hitting just after the change of tide in New Pass. We are using yellow short haired jigs in the quarter to half ounce size and tipped with a small bit of shrimp. Drift along the sand bar and bounce the jigs on the bottom as you drift along the edge.

If you have not done this before, watch the other boats to develop the correct cadence to your snap. It is a short snap and you want the jig to hit the bottom sending up a small puff of sand, simulating a crab digging in. You know you are doing right when the paint starts to come off your jig, or you catch fish ?.

Amberjack in the 40 pound range have been on the bite and December is the time for the big ones, 80-100 pounds. AJ's have been known to move in to the deeper reefs offshore. You can find AJ's on any structure in 80' feet of water and deeper at this time of year. AJ's prefer live bait but will take dead bait. I have caught some big ones on live bluefish and one eighty pounder on live shrimp. Just get over the structure and drop your bait down and they usually take it about half way to the bottom. Grouper have also been on the bite but you will need to get off the structure and away from the AJ's. Fish the hard bottom so that you can get a bait down.

With the 80 degree weather this week, we should start to get some good action on the inshore reefs as well. Sheepshead, grouper and snapper should pickup. You also want to keep a lookout for cobia and tripletail. One seventeen and a half pound tripletail was caught this week.

November was a mixed bag of fish and tricks! This last week found pompano in the passes, small mackerel and little tunny along the beach. The next day we would have large Spanish mackerel on the (M) reefs or good size grouper in 35 to 50 feet of water. Sometimes the jewfish were just too hungry to let you bring anything up. Kingfish, amberjack, sharks and barracuda were also hanging out on the (M) reefs.

Some days you could have all the fish you would want in the first hour and other times it could be three hours before you might get the first good fish. All and all it was a good month except for the bad weather over the holidays.

The small mackerel and Little tunny running along the beach are taking small spoons (01-00) and jigs. The tunny like the spoons on a small #2 plainer dropped back about 30 feet behind the boat. The larger mackerel offshore and kings will take live shrimp and whitebait, free lined or on the bottom. Trolling midsize Bombers and spoons have also worked well in 40 to 50 foot depths.

Groupers eat everything and live bait (pinfish and grunts) work best. Live shrimp will catch a larger variety of fish but the grouper have a hard time getting to them first. Sheepshead, porgy, flounder, snapper, seabass, mackerel and triggerfish are just some of the fish being caught offshore while bottom fishing at this time.

The fishing has been good for the last couple of weeks if you could get offshore. There was plenty of large Spanish mackerel, 3-5 pounders around the (M) reefs in 40-50 feet of water. Some very nice kingfish are also being caught in the same area if you can get them in before the barracudas get them. Catching the larger live bait for the kings has also been hard due to their scarcity and the barracudas taking our bait rigs. It has not taken long to hookup with a king using a bluerunner or herring for bait. On the other hand, the Spanish mackerel were feeding well on live shrimp or whitebait and that we had plenty of. Free-line and drifting was the method we used. The barracuda, sharks and little tuny were also on the bite.

Capt. David Head boated over 15 nice size dolphin fishing 35 miles west of Big Pass. I saw a few nice dolphin, 6-8 pounders that were caught 25 miles offshore.

Bull reds have been moving along beach in 18 to 30 feet of water. Pat Ricciardi landed a nice 30 pound redfish on the (I) reefs using live shrimp for bait. The fishing has been slow on the (I) reefs but bull reds, mackerel, cobia, flounder and gag grouper are being caught occasionally.

King Mackerel have turned on! Heavy king action was reported on the artificial reef M-1 Friday morning. The best action was on live bluerunners but trolling hardware worked as the day wore on. Finding live bait is still hard but it can be done. Spanish mackerels have been thick at times on the artificial reefs.

Gag grouper have also been on the bite. Trolling Stretch 30 lures have produced large grouper in 30 to 50 feet of water and fishing live pinfish on the bottom has also worked. I was not able to find a large concentration of grouper on the bay last week, but I was able to produce some nice gags and flounder offshore. Fishing in 25 to 40 feet of water with live pinfish and large shrimp, we found plenty of action.

The strong East winds of last week allowed me to fish the coast and I concentrated on the ledges, hard bottom and artificial reefs. We caught a large variety of fish, even a few true black grouper. A few cobia have been taken this past week but not enough to sit on.

The fishing is basically good at this time but it has been a start and stop situation. When bottom fishing, you may need to get the smaller fish going (grunts and snapper) before the larger fish will turn on. I like to keep plenty of live shrimp or white bait on hand and use the light tackle to get things going. This is also a good time to check the crab trap floats for triple tail, they love live shrimp.

Gag grouper have moved in close and are on the (I) reefs in 25' to 30' of water. Keeper size grouper have also been moving into the bay and it should get better. Cobia action is also picking up along the beach and the (I) reefs.

On the bay, look for the grouper around any structure, rock piles or channel, both deep and shallow. We found some nice grouper in a 4' deep channel that runs along the grass flats at the entrance to a small bayou. For now, where you find one you will find more big gags.

There are many methods used to catch big grouper on the bay. My favorite method for fishing the artificial reefs and shallow channels is to free line live pinfish. First I like to catch the pinfish just before I go fishing. Pinfish do not keep well in a pen overnight. A #8 hook, small splitshot and a small piece of cut bait should get you all the 3 to 5 inch bait you need. Unlike fishing in the deeper Gulf water, I do not anchor over the fish. Instead, I try to get just close enough to cast to where I think the fish are schooled. Pinfish will normally dive to the bottom, but if he sees grouper he will try to walk on water. The grouper will either take him off the surface or wait until he dives again. If the pinfish does not come to the surface, slowly retrieve him to keep him out of the snags. I like to hook my bait through the lips so that I can pull better. You can use a float to keep your bait out of the rocks but it will be harder to keep the grouper out of the rocks due to the extra slack line.

Offshore you should find grouper, cobia and large flounder in the same places, the (I) reefs and all eating live pinfish. All three species will eat any kind of live bait.

Here comes the cooler weather and sure, the front is going to knock down the fishing for a while but it is what we have been waiting for. Already there have been a few kings caught offshore and bluefish on the grass flats. The larger snook are starting to move inshore and pompano have been caught in the passes. Some of the best bay fishing has been above Longbar on the north side of Sarasota bay but we have also found some nice snook and redfish in the backwater at the south end of the bay.

I have found some thick schools of Spanish mackerel feeding early in the morning about 3 miles north of New Pass in 18 feet of water. The mackerel have been mostly small but legal size. They have been feeding on small anchovies and prefer a small whitebait or jig. Larger Spanish have been caught further offshore around the (M) reefs. Mangrove snapper have also been active. Although they will take cut bait, they prefer small pilchards (whitebait) or live shrimp fished on or near the bottom around large structures. Light tackle in the 8 to 12 pound test works best for snapper. I use only a 1/4 oz split shot, 40 pound mono leader and a 3/0 hook. Snapper like to pickup and drop the bait once before taking it. Some nice grouper are also starting to show up but you will need to fish heavier tackle for them. Live pinfish or grunts will work very well for the grouper.

We are all keeping an eye out for cobia but no big schools have been reported yet. I try to keep a rod ready for cobia when fish along the coast. As the water starts to cool, the fishing will improve and all we need is fishable weather.

The past week was a fun week mostly due to the cooler temperatures and not because of the amount of keeper fish. We started off the week with a good run of Spanish mackerel along the beach and redfish along the docks on the bay. Then a front came through and knocked it all down except the reds for one last day. Thursday and Friday brought plenty of action on the bay but it was mostly small snook, ladyfish and jacks. While fishing the backwater, we also caught a few flounder, a six pound jewfish, a 24" barracuda, a croaker and few snapper. The outside channel of New Pass was loaded with ladyfish but we did get a nice 3 pound pompano and some mackerel from it.

At first light, the bigger snook and jacks have been feeding along the surf on the schools of bait fish. Offshore fishing was on and off but mostly off with some Spanish mackerel on top and mangrove snapper on the bottom. Cobias are starting to show and I am sure that as soon as the high pressure leaves this area the fishing will improve.

The high NE wind made the offshore fishing bumpy so we stayed close. We did not get much to take home but we had plenty of action and very good weather that made everyone happy.

Not much has changed in the last two weeks. There was a short lived flurry when the barometer dropped as the hurricane passed our shores and then the action dropped off due to the dirty water. Redfish were being caught around the docks and snook at night. There have been plenty of trout on the grass flats, but most are short. You can catch fish but you will need to work at it. Pick your times to fish, first light, last light and fish for an hour before and after the change of tide.

The weather looks good for the weekend. This should help the water cleanup and start the fish biting. September is traditionally a slow month and this one is slower than most. September is also a month that the unexpected can happen. The end of September is when our weather can start to change and that makes the fishing very unpredictable.

Good or bad, a fishing report is only history and you can't be part of that history if you stay at home. The best part about fishing is not knowing. It only takes one good fish, win or lose, to make that day part of your history for life. The worst thing a fisherman can hear is "you should have been here yesterday".

Redfish have been the main attraction on the bay for the past week. Although we have had plenty of action on the grass flats from small trout, ladyfish and jacks, the big fish has been redfish. Some of the best action has been in the basins and bayous south of Island Park and north of Longbar at the north end of the bay. Small pinfish, pigfish and white bait have worked best. A little chumming with dead shrimp or white bait will enhance your chances. Redfish will eat most everything, dead or alive and artificial baits. Fish on the bottom and under any large boats or docks. When you hook one, stay on that spot until they quit and go back to it on the same tide next time. The reds have been large, so fish a tight drag so that you can keep them from running around the pylons and cutting you off.

Spanish mackerel action along the beach has been on and off but mostly off. Small white bait has worked but the bluerunners can take over.

The best action offshore has been on the Swisscheese area some twenty miles offshore, but the ride has been bumpy at times. Red grouper and some gags have been the mainstay with live pinfish or grunts the best bait. Dead bait will work but you will waste a lot of time on catching short grouper. The new Federal regulation for Black and Gag grouper is 22 inches. If you are going to spend the time and money to make the trip, it makes sense to spend the time or money to acquire good bait. It does not take long to add a dozen pinfish to your livewell. If you don't have a livewell, some fresh caught sardines via a gold hook rig and stored on ice is much better than the mushy frozen baits. I do find that the frozen baits make a good chum when the smaller fish attack them and this action can draw larger fish.

Now is the time to get in on some great summertime fishing. Most barracuda are probably caught while trolling for other species and are unwanted by most fishermen who have their sights set on something grander. As with other species of the same size, trolling leaves a lot to be desired in how well the fish can fight.

Casting to barracuda with live or artificial baits on twelve to fifteen pound test line is an awesome sport. Their surface strike is explosive, their jumping acrobats are chaotic and their runs are strong and unpredictable. They are about the smartest fish that I know of. They are always watching you, in the water or out. They may lay under your boat and wait, striking only the better fish like a snapper or mackerel, letting the jacks and grunts go by.

I use live sardines or herring and free line them out on a 5/0 hook and a 6" light wire leader. Sometimes they will only hit the bait on the first run or I may need to take the wire leader off to get them started. My favorite way to fish them is with a tube lure when the water is flat calm and you can sight fish them. I use bright pink or green and retrieve the lure as fast as I can. They will strike with a roar and an explosion of water you seldom see. In this area, you can find barracuda all over the Gulf but they stack up in large numbers over the artificial reefs in 40 to 60 feet of water for most of the summer. The average size is about 15 to 20 pounds but it is not uncommon to get a 30 pounder.

People do eat them here and call them "Poor Man's Grouper". In some areas they can be poisonous to eat due to Ciguatera fish poison but we don't seem to have that in this area. I don't eat them because I don't like the smell from their slime when they are put in the fish box. I must also admit that the word "poisonous" used in any context with my food is a deterrent to my appetite.

Friday brought the Spanish mackerel back along Longboat Key Beach. The small whitebait we netted at the Bait shop docks worked very well on light tackle. Drifting the rock piles about three miles north of New Pass in 18 feet of water, we free-lined the live bait. The Mac's were running about 2-4 pounds and we had large ladyfish mixed in. I am sure that spoons or jigs would have worked also.

When we moved into the bay, we found the action just as fast. Most of the action was on under size trout but we did get one 20". Small sharks to 10 pounds, sting rays and ladyfish filled in the action.

Offshore on the (M) reefs, the action has mostly been little tunny and barracuda with a few large sharks for fun. M-5 has been the hot reef. The bait has been plentiful and free lining while anchored has been the best method. You can fish the tunny without wire but if you need to use wire, keep it light, #3.

This is the time of the year that we have plenty of large fish on the bay, but unless you are a chum fisherman, you need to know when they feed. At the New Pass Bait Shop docks and most of the other bait docks, you can see snook well over twenty pounds, dwarfing the 8 to 10 pound jacks swimming around them. We had a large triple tail under the docks Friday although most of the fish are just hanging out waiting for that magic hour, first light, last light and an hour before and after change of tide. Of course there are exceptions and jacks are usually one of them.

What happened to the mackerel? I was there but they forgot to stop by. We all gave it about an hour and a half
but only a few mackerel were caught. I will give it another shot tomorrow morning.

Spanish mackerel are on the bite along the beach! You would have no problem limiting out on large Spanish
mackerel to day in 18' of water along Longboat Key. Free-line a live pilchard (white-bait) was the best bait.

Unless you are running twenty miles or more offshore, the fishing has been slow for the past two weeks. Some of the best action on the bay has been just north of Longbar. Keeper size trout have been hitting live white bait and large shrimp but finding the right size bait can take some time. Soft tail jigs have been working and tipping them helps. The next best fish to show up in numbers has been mangrove snapper. The snapper have been turning up most any place on the bay and at all of the (I) and (M) reefs offshore. The snapper like the small white bait and live shrimp fished on the bottom. I probably could mention twenty different species as being caught this past week some place on the bay or offshore, but I like to cover the higher activity points in my report. In other words, Key West grunts are plentiful all over the Gulf and are very good to eat. They are just as good as mangrove snapper, just less meat for equal lengths. So look for the bigger ones if you want eat them. Blue runners are also plentiful and good to eat if you like a mackerel or tuna tasting fish.

Offshore on the (M) reefs, we still have plenty of barracuda, some tunny, Spanish mackerel, snapper, permit and still an occasional kingfish. The bait can be hard to find at times and the sardines may be on the bottom but when you find them, you can usually fill up your bait well in no time. The best action has started at about twenty miles offshore at the Swiss Cheese in 70 to 85 feet of water. Plenty of grouper have been coming in from this area and it is also the place to start looking for dolphin. Run to 40 miles offshore and you will definitely be in dolphin, wahoo and sailfish water at this time of year. The reports have been good for all of the above. Trolling artificial or live bait will work.

Gag grouper and small sharks were on the (M) reefs. This seems to have been the best fishing over the past week. Fishing in 25 to 30 feet of water off shore and any deep structure on the bay has produced some nice fish. I like to catch my own fresh live bait for this kind of fishing. Using a small baited hook and split shot, I drift the grass flats and structures for medium size pinfish and pigfish (grunts). For the large sardines, I use the gold hook bait rig and find the schools just offshore.

Depending on how and where the fish are hitting, I will use about 3'-4' of 60 to 150 test mono leader and at least a strong 5/0 hook. When anchored, I will use less than 1 oz of lead depending how strong the bait is and I place the weight close to the hook. I fish straight down and just above the structure and make the fish come out just a bit to get the bait. If you cast out or drop your bait down into the structure, you will be tying a lot of rigs. The exception to this is when you fish the sand around the edges of the structures and especially for the large flounder that are hanging around the structure.

A number of the sharks have been black tip. They are a favorite of the shark eaters but they are also good sport. When fishing here, you need to treat everything you feel on your rod like it is a fish even though it may feel like bottom. Many of the fish you hook will need to be pulled out of the rocks and you will see the scars on them, if you get them up.

If you have been wanting to run some long offshore trips, this is the time to do it. Blackfin tuna and dolphin have been on the bite forty to fifty miles offshore. Artificial and live bait have both been productive. The baitfish has been plentiful from the beach out to twenty five miles offshore. Shorter runs to the (M) reefs in forty to fifty feet of water have produced plenty of large Spanish mackerel, barracuda and an occasional permit on live crab. The mackerel have been inhaling the #2 spoon when trolling and the cuda have been taking spoons and large live bait.

On the bay, we found the sea trout to be the most consistent and the snook best at first and last light. Due to the small size of the shrimp and the lack of good size whitebait or grunts, we have caught our best trout on artificial baits. We caught more keeper size trout by tipping a soft tail jig with a fresh maggot size shrimp tail. I found most of the trout in the grass between Country Club Shores and Longboat Key Moorings, also along Longbar at the north end of the bay.

Tarpon are still hanging around the fenders at New Pass bridge. Tarpon are best fished like the snook at first and last light, night and change of tide. You can see them all day long but that's about all you can do, just look. The best time of all is when last light and change of tide correspond.

Mangrove snapper have been caught all over the bay from the flats to the docks. Snappers school, so stick with the school when you find them and use your ruler.

I can't get too excited about the previous week of fishing but some nice fish were caught. Probably the most active offshore was the barracuda but some grouper, snapper, black-tip sharks, little tunny and permit found their way to some fish boxes. I can go on with the variety of fish that have been caught in the past week but the numbers are down. Live bait has been the best shot and we have plenty of that from the beach to out past the (M) reefs.

Snook fishing has been good at all the passes and Point of Rocks off of Siesta Key beach. Fish the change of tides with live bait or artificial baits like Rapala and MirrOlure.

Sea trout have been steady at the north end of the bay around Longbar using live shrimp and a popping cork. Large mangrove snapper have also moved into the bay and are hanging around some of the marina docks. You can also find some snapper in the passes on the change of tide. Live shrimp is the number one bait for snapper but in with the snapper you may find some gag grouper. Live pinfish and grunts work best for the larger grouper. You can also look for snapper and grouper around any of the artificial reefs or deep structure on the bay.

Tarpon charters are over for me for this year. The tarpon will spread out over the bay for the summer. First light and last light are some of the best times for a hookup. Night time and change of tide are also good times to fish tarpon. Their feeding times are short in the summer and definitely hit and miss. You never know about tarpon, they eat every thing, including dead cut bait on the bottom. It is not uncommon to jump one on your ultra light tackle while fishing for trout with live shrimp. Jump is not land but you will always remember that hundred pound fish coming out of the water with your six pound line in its mouth.

Gag grouper have moved in close and are on the (I) reefs! Wednesday and Thursday we found plenty of large grouper in 25' feet of water on the artificial reefs off of Lido Beach. The offshore and Bay fishing was on the slow side so I opted to work the closer reefs. We started to fish the bottom with large live shrimp and had very little action but when we dropped a live Threadfin herring down, we got hammered. The herring are plentiful around the reefs and can be caught on the gold hook bait rigs.

Pulling grouper off this structure is not for the weak. You should use at least twenty pound test line and lock the drag down on your reel. We lost some on fifty pound test line by not being able to stop them before they got under the structure. I use sixty to a hundred fifty pound test mono leader with a 5/0-6/0 extra strong hook but no more than one and a half ounces of lead. Fish straight down and just off the bottom so that you do not get hung-up when the boat swings.

Along with the grouper, you may find some large flounder. This is the time of year for the (I) reefs to pickup so don't pass them up. You can find more details on grouper digging on my web site "www.sarasota-fla-fishing.com" under "Tackle n' Tails".

No matter where you fished this past week, you had to work hard to get your fish. Offshore we had Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, little tunny, sharks and barracuda and we also had three and four foot seas. Some days only spoons worked and other days it was only live bait. The herring could also be difficult to catch offshore. It was best to catch the bait along the beach in 18-20 feet of water before going offshore, even though you may not have needed it that day. Artificial reef M-7 was hot this week and drifting or trolling was the best method but hard to do over the weekend with all the anchored boats.

Tarpon fishing was difficult also because the S. E. wind kept the beach choppy so it was hard to see the tarpon. Some nice tarpon were jumped but we were never sure what bait they would take or how they wanted it presented. Tarpon are starting to move into the bay and we have jumped them while fishing for snapper and trout with live shrimp. That does not last long on eight or twelve pound test line.

On the bay, we caught some nice fish but it was not consistent. We could catch all our good fish in one hour out of the four hours and never be sure which hour that would be. Using live shrimp for bait, we found snook, flounder, snapper, black drum and big jacks around the docks, passes, bridges and beach areas. We found large trout and some Spanish mackerel on the grass flats. The bay reefs are holding some nice gag grouper, black seabass, snapper and flounder. For keeper size grouper you need heavier tackle, live pinfish and much more patience.

If you did not mind a little rock and roll, Artificial reef M-1 had plenty of action all week. Large Spanish mackerel and small king mackerel stayed on the bite all week long. Trolling small spoons worked best unless you could find some smaller live bait to free-line. The Threadfin herring have been a little large for the mackerel but just right for the numerous sharks and barracuda. Night fishing for large sharks has been very good. Capt. Brian Martel who charters night fishing for big sharks from his 45' sport fisherman, the Midnight Sun, was pulled overboard by one the other night but returned safely back on board with his Penn International in tow.

Tarpon fishing has been OK along the beach. Early starts have not been necessary and we have been able to find them throughout the day. A few schools of tarpon have also been found on the bay. Due to the cloudy water, blind fishing and sight fishing are both working with live bait.

On the bay, we have seen plenty of large snook and jacks around the docks and bridges. The Passes have started to turn up some mackerel and pompano. We have been getting seatrout on the grass flats but most are small. You can find some keeper size gag grouper on some of the bay's artificial reefs, but you need to use live pinfish and at least twenty pound test line to pull them out of the structure. Black sea bass, mangrove snapper and flounder have also been filling in and are taking live shrimp.

Tarpon fishing along the beach is about as good as it gets. We have been able to find plenty of tarpon from Big Pass to Longboat Pass and they are moving slow. They are hard to see sometimes because they have been staying deep, so a good pair of polarized sunglasses is a must. Tarpon will take every thing from cutbait to fly but I think live, fresh caught pinfish and grunts have been working best. Pinfish and grunts will naturally run deep to where the tarpon are feeding. When the tarpon are down, you need to be able to see and follow the subtle dark clouds in the water.

Offshore at M-1 and M-7, we had plenty of action all week with kingfish and large Spanish mackerel on live Threadfin herring. We also had a large variety of sharks to six feet or more. We found plenty of baitfish from the beach out. Further offshore at the Old Barge in 80' of water, we found plenty of small AJ's and some nice schools of permit. We found some jewfish on the bottom and they stayed on the bottom. We also had a first for me. We hooked a 300 pound porpoise that took a hooked AJ at the boat and only lasted a few seconds before he broke the mono leader. I have never seen or heard of this before and may be the results of people hand feeding these wild animals. He stayed around the boat all the time we were there and chased our fish to the boat. Close to the Barge in 80 to 90 feet of water in the Swiss Cheese area, we had reports of dolphin and grouper being caught in good numbers.

Almost the end of May and the wind and high pressure are still with us making the fishing drag. The only consistent fish has been the king mackerel and they have moved from day to day. Most all of the king action has been at one or another of the (M) reefs and some at the Venice Jetty. Live Threadfin or pilchard has been the best bait and we have plenty of baitfish everywhere. The bottom fishing has brought in some nice gag grouper and snapper using Live Threadfin, pilchards and shrimp.

The tarpon have started to move along the beach and we found ours from Point of Rocks to the Venice Jetty. We baited with live crab, grunt, pinfish and Threadfin. We found some of the schools standing still and not breaking the surface. You can see them better as the sun comes up. Spanish mackerel and little tunny are also along the beach, but the mackerel are getting smaller.

On the Bay, the trout have gone from hot to cold and cold to hot so you never know what to expect. We have been getting some nice large trout when they are on and an occasional Spanish mackerel or bluefish using large live shrimp. We have been fishing all of the grass flats and using a popping cork for most of our fishing. The fishing should steadily improve as we go through June.

This was my week to start looking for Tarpon, but I found not one tarpon! We ran along the beach from New Pass to the Venice Jetty's about 15 miles south of New Pass. I did hear of some tarpon being seen at the Jetty's and maybe if we had gone further south we would have found them but I heard no chatter on the VHF.

We found plenty of Spanish mackerel and little tunny feeding on acres of small half-inch baitfish at Casey Key. This is also a popular place to look for tarpon (DGPS 2709.517 / 8229.405). This area also has some very nice 6' and 8' ledges in 25' feet of water where we caught some mangrove snapper to 16" and keeper grouper. Some grouper were also caught along the grassy beach area, which is also a good place to catch sea trout. Casey Key Beach is a comfortable place to fish with a strong SE wind.

The kingfish are still on the bite offshore. M-7 and M-6 areas are hot spots for Kings, Little tunny, shark and barracuda. On the average, the kings have been small and with all the Rock and Roll, deep trolling has worked the best. Drifting live bait is working and is a lot more fun, especially with small size kings. Live bait is plentiful from the Gulf marker out! Yellowtail and mangrove snapper are also being caught on the (M) reefs; 60' has been best for yellowtail. Fish with large live shrimp and small pilchards on the bottom for the snapper.

It was grouper digging time for those who ran offshore to 70' to 80' depths or more. Good catches of red grouper up to 15 pounds with a few gags mixed in were the reward for a bumpy ride at best. Fishing the bottom with live whitebait, pinfish and grunts is some of the best bait to use but cut or dead bait will work also.

We are still getting some nice kings, cuda, tunny and jacks on M-7 and we have plenty of whitebait around the reef. Fishing the bottom in the 40'-60' foot depth has been okay, but it will turn on and off so an early start would be best. Live shrimp has produced the largest variety of fish, snapper, porgy, flounder and grouper. The whitebait has produced some larger gag and red grouper. Remember to take the gold hook bait rigs along when you go offshore.

On the bay, we found that the redfish action has picked up along the docks and the trout, although plentiful on the grass flats, has been averaging a smaller size. Snook have been also building up around the docks and deep mangroves. Again, it has not been steady action and the morning has been better for all. Mackerel, cobia, jacks and small sharks have been some of the other fish being caught on the bay. Helicopter Bar and the Ringling grass flats have been two of the hot spots.

Offshore is where most of the fast action has been. Kingfish, Barracuda, little tunny, grouper, snapper and there are large schools of baitfish everywhere. M-7 has been hot for the kings and live shrimp or baitfish has worked well. At anchor or drifting, we have free-lined the live bait out for a quick pickup. Most of the kings have been well under twenty pounds so using 12 lb. test line, 40# mono leader, six inches of # six steel leader and a 3/0 to 5/0 hook was very productive and a lot of fun. M-5 has been very hot for large little tunny. They have been taking the bait so hard and deep that you cannot see the hook when you land them. Tunny are becoming popular as a food fish when they are carefully trimmed, marinated in Soya with herbs and then grilled. Barracuda have been taking live bait, tube lures and sometimes your king mackerel. Grouper and snapper have been best on hard bottom in deeper water but you can find them all over.

On the bay, we have been able to find some large trout, 20 to 25 inches but it has not been consistent and we need to work for them. We have found most of the large trout on Helicopter bar and the Ringling grass flats. Large live shrimp on a popper float or free-line has worked well for us. An occasional pompano, cobia, and Spanish mackerel can also be found in the same places. We have found red and black drum, sheepshead and snook around the docks but for only short periods. Large ten-pound jacks are still holding around the New Pass Bridge.

The cloudy water along the beaches and in the passes do to the windy conditions we have had lately has slowed but not stopped the action on the bay. The bay has faired better then the (I) reefs but the water looked much better today.

A good variety of fish has been caught this past week but you had to work for them! Kingfish have been best on deep trolling with spoons and using a plainer or downrigger. Free-lined live bait has been more fun but less kings. The barracudas and little tunny have filled in for better action. On the average, the kings have not been large but the barracudas have. You can get some nice grouper, snapper and flounder on any good bottom from 18' out to deep water if you can get past the bait stealers.

Along the beaches, we found some cobia and plenty of Spanish mackerel with live shrimp, free-lined. Sheepshead are also plentiful on the rock piles. The passes are holding pompano, mackerel and bluefish. You can also find 10 pound jacks around the bridge fenders.

Bay fishing is picking up. The snook are moving in under the docks. Harts reef is holding a variety of fish, mackerel, trout, bluefish, seabass, sheepshead and small grouper. The action was not fast but we caught some nice fish. Working the grass flats, we found more of the same plus some short cobia. You could find keeper cobia anywhere at this time, so keep a rod and bait ready for a big guy. If you are low on talent when it comes to throwing artificial lures, it would be best to use large live shrimp for bait.

King Mackerel have been hot for the last two weeks averaging 10-12 pounds. Most were less than 20 pounds. The kings started ten miles north of New Pass in 42' of water and moved south to the Ice Box area after the front passed. Free-lined live shrimp worked well in the calmer water but as the wind picked up, deep trolling with spoons was the answer at the IceBox. Amberjacks are plentiful if you run out to 100-150 feet of water and fish the old wrecks or artificial reefs.

Along the beaches, it has been Spanish mackerel, cobia, flounder, sheepshead, snapper and some gag grouper. The mackerel have been hot and cold and in and out of the bay, one day you limit out the next day you get two. We hooked-up with cobia every day but the action is still a little skinny.

On the bay, we found plenty of fish in the passes! 8-10 pound jacks were around the bridge fenders and snook were under the bait shop dock. Drifting Big Pass, we found a nice variety of fish. Pompano, mackerel, bluefish and an occasional cobia were sighted. Live shrimp and tipped jigs worked well. Whiting are being caught along the edges of the passes. Small or cut shrimp fished on the bottom will work for whiting. To find the whiting, just look for all the small boats anchored up and put your boat in line.

Spanish mackerel have invaded the inshore waters! Along the beaches and in the passes, the mackerel have come to feed on the large schools of glass-minnows. Live shrimp, spoons and jigs have worked well all week. A few nice cobia have been caught on the artificial reefs along the beach and I expect it to get better. You can still find a tripletail or two around the crab trap floats.

Offshore we fished the fifty-foot depth around the (M) reefs and found plenty of mangrove snapper. Large live shrimp worked best for the snapper. We fished the natural bottom and used very light line, 8-12 pound test with a 1/4-ounce splitshot. The water is very clear now so you can see the bottom and the fish. There were snapper along with large schools of 3-5 pound jacks and an occasional keeper gag grouper that might be caught. Porgy, grunts and many other reef species have been caught on shrimp. Plenty of barracuda are on the (M) reef and they will hit tube lures on a fast retrieve.

Further offshore at the Swiss Cheese area in 72' of water (250-255 cc / 18-19 miles off New Pass), we found plenty of large gag and red grouper. Some were well over 15 pounds. The grouper are moving around in groups so drifting was the best method to use. You won't see much on your recorder here, just some ground clutter at best. Don't be surprised to see 10 or 12 grouper follow a hooked fish to the surface. Live pinfish on the bottom worked for us. It was calm Friday so a one-ounce sinker was plenty of weight to get the bait down. With the clear water, we used a light 60# test leader. Use a marker when you hook fish but do not expect them to stay there very long.

Grouper, snapper and flounder in 40 to 60 feet of water have been our mainstay. The artificial (M) reefs and natural ledges have been holding a large variety of fish. Large live shrimp used on the bottom has produced grouper, snapper, flounder, sheepshead, grunts and many odd species. Live pinfish on the bottom has been good when looking for only grouper or larger species. Free-lining live sardines has been good for jacks, barracuda and little tunny.

Along the beach on the (I) reefs and rock piles in 18 to 25 feet of water, we found some sheepshead, flounder, bluefish and small snapper. Some cobia have also started to show up. Look for tripletail around the crab trap floats! This is a good time for tripletail and they love live shrimp but will take a fly or jig too. The 30-foot depth has been over loaded with grunts.

The bay fishing has not been to hot! We managed a few pompano and trout but don't be surprised if you see a school of little tunny tearing up the bait. They have been on the bay for a couple of weeks. LTs can be a lot of fun if you hook up. The bay action should pickup soon.

This is the time to get the most out of your bottom recorder. Although we have had some very good catches of snapper and grouper offshore, they are moving around. We have been finding schools of individual species in open water as they move around from spot to spot. You may find snapper on any of the (M) reefs in the morning and find them gone in the afternoon with only the grunts left behind. This is the time you need to keep an eye on your bottom recorder as you move from spot to spot. We have found schools of fish from 30 to 60 feet of water with 40 to 50 feet being the most productive. Remember that in open water (no structure) your bait may be the only thing holding them around your boat. Keep bait in the water and don't stop for lunch. The fishing sounds good but it has not been easy and you will need to work at it. Some of the better fish we have been catching offshore are snapper, grouper, flounder, black seabass and silver trout.

Inshore I have been fishing the deeper channels like Zwicks Channel. We have been catching plenty of spotted seatrout but most of them are short. The bonus is an occasional pompano or flounder.

Large live shrimp has been the bait for inshore and offshore with the exception of live pinfish for the larger grouper. The cold water has changed our fishing techniques a little, making the fish move more to find food offshore and better temperatures inshore. You need to be flexible when fishing in Florida because a subtle difference in the weather can make big difference in the fishing. We had good days and not so good days this past week.

This past week has been nothing but wind, rain and cold with the passing fronts. A few people did get out and managed to catch a couple of fish but it was not good. By fishing what protected water they could find south and north of the bay, they did catch a few redfish and trout. Most of the time but not always, "Bad weather bad fishing" is a rule I go by. After a front moves through, the fishing will drop off. Then it is a matter of how severe the weather is as to how long it takes the fish to get back to normal. Some fish take advantage of the dirty water, like our saltwater catfish. Where do they all come from and where do they all go when it clears up? I really don't want to know where they go ?.

This weekend the weather should start calming things down. We should start to see the pompano in the passes and the grouper and snapper should still be offshore. It is just a matter of handling the ride out to get them. It will take a little longer for the (I) reefs to clear up enough to be fish-able. We need some Easterly winds to speed this up.

Offshore fishing is still going strong if you can handle the rock and roll but we also had some flat days. It has not taken long to limit out on mangrove snapper when using live shrimp for bait. Along with the snapper, we have been catching grouper, large porgy, flounder, hogfish, triggerfish, sheepshead and eating size Key West grunts. In addition, on the live shrimp, we caught small kingfish and little tunny up to ten pounds. Some of the kings were under the new 24" size limit. In fact, every one should look at the new Rules & Regulations at http://www.state.fl.us/gfc/marine/flines.htm.

Most of the action was between 45 and 60 feet of water in the Cuda Hole area. A well known and good place to start in the Cuda Hole is Table rock ledge 14139.1 / 44484.0 - 2714.325 / 8245.400. This is a nice ledge and easy to find on your recorder. You can then move North and West a couple of miles using your bottom recorder to find a less used area and remember to use marker buoys when you locate something that looks good.

Pompano has been the best of the bay action and have been caught by drifting the passes and grass flats. There have been some good runs in Big pass but the action is spotty at best. Tipped pompano jigs or live shrimp fished on the bottom have been the best baits. Of course, live sand fleas would be better but they are hard to find. If you fish close to the rocks and docks in the pass, you will find snapper, sheepshead, and Black Seabass as well as small grouper. Fishing around the fenders of the Bay bridges has produced some bluefish, jacks and ladyfish.

If you are one of those guys who is waiting for the snapper and grouper to be on the bite, it doesn't get any better than it was yesterday! It didn't take long to limit out on mangrove and lane snapper averaging about three pounds. The lane snapper were as big as the mangrove snapper. Keeper size gag grouper were also plentiful in the same area. We also found Yellowtail snapper over twenty inches in schools.

Where? This is the best part! Every place we went in 50-60 feet of water. Whether we were on the spot or 200 feet from it, we caught fish. I started about a half mile inside of M-7 on natural bottom in 50 feet of water. Another guide boat started a few miles south of us at the same depth. We both were bringing in nice fish as fast as we could. The other boat quickly limited out on snapper and had some nice gag, so he moved off his spot to save it for another day. He blindly went out to 60 feet and started to fish hoping to slow the action. The action did not slow! They started getting yellowtail snapper over 20 inches and more gag grouper. On the spot I was fishing, I normally need to fish within ten feet of the ledge, but this time I let the boat drift off the ledge about 200 feet and we were still getting fish.

We used large live shrimp for the snapper and live mid size grunts (4" pigfish) for the larger grouper. We fished the bottom using 12 to 20 pound test line, 40 to 60 pound test mono leader, half to one ounces of lead and a 3/0 to 5/0 hook, all depending on which bait was being used.

Along with the snapper, we caught large grunts, porgy and large triggerfish, which are all good to eat. The seas were flat as a pancake Friday and it was a little foggy. We could see plenty of surface action but did not try fishing it. When we limited out, we went back early and found some trout action on the grass flats just north of Country Club Shores. Pompano are still hot in Big Pass and on the Middle Ground grass flats. Keeper size gag grouper and small snapper are also being caught inshore.

I do not know how long this will last and reports are only history but if you can get out fishing, this is the time to do it.

All the good weather has finally brought us some very good fishing. On the bay, it has been pompano in Big Pass at marker 13. New Years day we drifted the pass with yellow pompano jigs, tipped with a small piece of shrimp. We fished the incoming tide and had to wait about an hour for the current to get just right for the pompano to feed. Then we had about two hours of good action and left them on the bite. The average size pompano was around two pounds. We went for trout but they were slow Saturday. The trout fishing was good this past week until Saturday and we had done well on the grass flats just north of Country Club Shores.

Then I ran offshore and stopped at different reefs along the way. It was at 40' on natural bottom before we found some good fishing. There were mostly large grunts but with them, we caught snapper, mackerel, bluefish, sheepshead and an occasional grouper. Further offshore the snapper and grouper fishing has been very good.

The hot spot has been the IceBox area off Venice. Kingfish averaged 15 to 20 pounds and one 30 pounder caught on cut bait. Plenty of nice snapper and grouper are coming in from the IceBox area. Live bait has been the best but trolling deep with artificial and #4 planers has worked well.