Reports 97

I only got out a couple of days in the early part of the week due to the weather. We started on the bay and soon realized the bay had turned off! Listening to the VHF confirmed this as I heard the flats boats moving north and south off of the big bay in search of fish.

Offshore fishing was super excellent! Fishing north of New Pass on a small pile of rocks in 18 feet of water, we had very fast nonstop action. There were Spanish mackerel up to five pounds, bluefish up to three pounds and cobia up to twenty-five pounds. Mackerel were the prevalent fish with the cobia only showing up a couple of times during a trip. Free lined live shrimp and any jigs we had handy were working. The fishing was so hot that in less than two hours into one trip, I was asked to move off of the fish. "Let's take a ride," I heard from the four guys fishing, "we need a rest."

Further offshore on the artificial reef (M-3) in about forty feet of water, the snapper and grouper were on the bite. In fact, most of the forty foot plus depths with good bottom had fish. Large live shrimp are working well but you will need to bring some live pinfish for the larger grouper. One place to catch your pinfish is at the New Pass bell buoy. Fish the bottom with a small hook and cut bait for the pinfish. Remember to keep an eye open for cobia. They like to follow a hooked fish to the boat.

RUBBER STAMP! - is about how I feel I could of written the last several fishing reports. I could not get out until the end of the week, but pompano were still everywhere. The water was still on the cloudy side Friday, but 1/4 oz. jigs worked just fine. We started on the deep grass flats and never got a hit, but as soon as we drifted over the shallower grass, the action started. The first hookup was a bluefish almost four pounds, after that it was mostly pompano. We also got Spanish mackerel, flounder and whiting. The majority of pompano were 2 to 3 pounds with a few barely legal. We also found pompano in the passes.

Gag grouper, snapper, cobia and little tunny have been the action offshore. Live pinfish and large shrimp have been very good baits. You can catch all the pinfish and grunts you need on the grass flats by using a small hook tipped with a piece of cut bait or a cast net and chum. The hottest action has been on the (D) artificial reefs, D-6 being a good choice. The D reefs are about 25 miles offshore in just over 100 feet of water. The numbers are listed on my web site. That may be longer than you would like to run, plus you need to get on it very early to get a spot. The cuda hole and (M) reefs are also producing and you can always find something to anchor on. Make sure you bring markers so that you can get right over the structure.

This has not been a good week for boating, but for the few of us who did get out, the fishing was good. Pompano still have top billing and can be found on most grass flats and passes. Tipped 1/4 oz. jigs have been much better than live shrimp for those who have mastered the pompano snap. Along with the pompano, we found ladyfish, bluefish and trout. Sheepshead have started to bite and you can find them in good numbers around pylons and rock piles. I get my largest sheepshead using live shrimp on the artificial reefs just offshore in 25 to 30 feet of water. You will always have a chance to catch grouper, snapper, and flounder while fishing for sheepshead on these reefs.

Cobia are still around, although the sea conditions have not let us seriously fish for them. Kingfish were being caught at the beginning of the week but seemed to be slowing down.

When we can get back offshore, look for snapper, cobia, grouper, and some large permit to be on any or all of the deeper reefs. Try M-3 through M-8 and of course any good bottom you know of.

For those of you who are not familiar with jigging for pompano, let me try to explain the technique. I call it snapping because using only your wrist. You snap your rod tip down as fast, if not faster than you raised it allowing the jig to hit the bottom as hard as it can, so as to throw up a small puff of sand. This will resemble small crabs or shrimp trying to hide from the pompano. When tipping your jig, make sure the bait is small and in line with your jig so as not to give a rudder or parachute effect and cause the jig to hit the bottom too softly.

The weather has been a little less than ideal for fishing this weekend, so I am going to go over some of the places and techniques that have been working well before the cold fronts.

Pompano have been hot in three spots for two months or more and may be on the bite at only one or all. On the bay just north of New Pass channel, the Middle Ground grass flats have been the largest area. Drifting over the grass and casting small pompano jigs in hot pink, yellow, chartreuse and white and tipped with a very small piece of shrimp has produced for me. You can make any of your long-haired jigs into pompano jigs just by cutting the hair back to the bend of the hook. Soft jigs are also working but you need to bring a lot of extra tails because of the pinfish.

Marina Jack's grass flats have been another great spot. Starting at the south west corner of the sail boats and with an east wind, you can get a great drift along the sandbar. Big Pass has been another hot spot! The pass may require a heavier jig (½ oz) to get to the bottom. While drifting the pass, drop the jig to the bottom and snap your rod on the four count so that the jig will bounce along the bottom as you drift.

Cobia have been running good along the coastal reefs and have been taking large live shrimp very well, but cobia will eat most anything live you have. Most cobia are lost by trying to land them too early. Unlike other fish, cobia tend to reserve their strength and are very strong the first time you bring them to the boat. You need to play the fish down more, specially if you need to lip gaff for measurements before killing or just want to take photos and release. Cobia can jump up off a gaff or twist like shark and I have lost a few hand gaffs to them. I now use a very large salmon net for all my cobia.

Kingfish and permit have been on the (M) reefs! The kings have been taking large live shrimp very well when free lined, drifting or at anchor. Using shrimp gives you a chance of getting a large permit. If you are more into permit than kingfish or the fishing is slow, take off the wire leader. You may be surprised at how many kings you can hold with just a 3/0 hook without the wire. M-3 has been hot for both species.

Friday the cobia were on the bite, the best this season. In the morning we caught cobia up to 35 pounds and in the afternoon we caught over twenty with more than half of them being keeper size. We released all but two. The cobia were taking live shrimp fished deep with a ½ oz. of split shot. The cobia were on most of the inshore reefs in about 18 to 30 feet of water. Cobia will come and go but they are attracted to the reef by the hooking of other fish you might find on the reef. Then they will follow the hooked fish to the surface. We also found some grouper, flounder, and snapper on the reefs, by fishing the same way.

Kingfish are still are still being caught, but they are spread out. Two that were over thirty pounds were brought in Friday morning and they were caught side by side on live bait while at anchor. There is live bait on the "M" reefs, so bring your gold hook bait rigs. The "M" reefs are located in 40 to 65 feet of water and you can get the numbers from my home page.

Saturday morning we drifted the grass flats just north of New Pass channel with about thirty other boats. We had a light drizzle and a slight breeze. I have never seen so many boats work so well together and everyone seemed to be taking pompano. Although live bait was working, the jigs were taking most of the pompano. Our killer jig was a 1/4 oz., hot pink with a short tail and tipped with a very small peace of shrimp.

I had a family of three on board Saturday who wanted to catch and release because they were returning to New Jersey today. This was an exceptional day for me, not only because of the good fishing but due to a seven-year-old girl who was born to fish. I was told that the little girl had some experience fishing on a pond with her mother and loved it. The father had never fished. The mother chose not to fish and just wanted to watch father and daughter fishing. It only took a few subtle words of instruction to her husband to help him get started that led me to realize she knew how to fish. I love having kids on board but four hours is a long time for them. You should not expect too much of a seven- year-old, no matter how good the fishing is. This trip was different! The seven-year-old had never fished in salt water, was not familiar with the tackle and never saw a live shrimp. As soon as I opened the bait box, she reached in without coaxing or hesitation and firmly grabbed a large live shrimp. Her action was as smooth as someone taking a peace of bread at the dinner table. She was ready to fish! Her first bait must have landed in the mouth of a bluefish because the line kept going when it hit the water. Although the fish was jerking her around, she kept facing the fish with her rod up and landed the fish without much coaching. Next, I showed her how to open the bail, hold the reel and what finger to grab the line with. I watched as she grabbed the line with only the tip of her finger. I wondered how long it would stay there before she moved it to the first knuckle grove or above or pinched the line to the rod. These are mistakes so many make, but it never happened.

Her next fish was a ladyfish and with only the second fish she was beginning to get her rhythm of when to pull, reel, and hold. After a while, she noticed her father was doing much better on pompano using a jig. She promptly traded rods with her father and made a cast so long that I needed a conscious thought to close my mouth. With little coaching from her father or me, her father told her to remember to make the jig dance, his words for a pompano snap and she knew exactly what he meant. I told her to look behind her and to give a warning when casting. She never forgot anything she was told and only needed to be told once. On the second cast she had a large pompano on. It was a long fight, but I knew she would never let the rod go. After the fish was in the boat, she gave the fish a quick inspection and we released it. She looked down at her hand and after pulling two fingers apart said "boy that one pinched" and then she cast out for another. She fished for the full four hours. With only a short stop for refreshments, she was soon back with her mouth full, a few crumbs on her cheek, rod in hand and fish on. She fished hard even when the fishing was slow, never bored and she giggled loudly whenever she got a fish on. Although she was able to keep a fun conversation going all the time she paid strict attention to her own line and was not very interested in what others were catching around her. Toward the end of the trip she asked her parents if they could cancel the scheduled afternoon activities and continue fishing for another four hours.

It was the same for me at the age of seven and possibly it was for you. But you must remember that this is unusual and should not be expected from a young child. Keep the fishing fun and tuned to their attention span. Keep it from becoming long and boring to start with or you may lose a future fishing buddy.

Pompano have been thick on the Middle Ground grass flats just north of the New Pass channel. Live shrimp and soft tailed jigs in white, gold and yellow are good colors to start with. Along with the pompano were bluefish, sea trout, and a lot of lady fish. The pompano have been averaging about three pounds and some of the small permit that were running with them have been short. The best action occurred when we had a light wind and chop on the water. When the wind stopped, it got slow and it was necessary to move the live bait now and then to get a bite. Pompano seem to have trouble catching shrimp on the surface. So if you see your shrimp jumping out of the water, you need to put slack in your line and give it plenty of time to catch the shrimp. You will see the line run out smoothly when he has it.

The pompano has probably profited the most from the net ban and this year we can see the results. Although you may not have heard as much about pompano as you did redfish, trout, and mullet, pompano has had a tremendous amount of pressure due to the high market value and ease of knowing were to place the nets. Pompano migrate along the beaches feeding only on crustaceans but mainly on their favorite, the sand flea. Sand fleas live at the water's edge. Nets are placed from the beach out to deep water blocking the natural route of the pompano. This was repeated all along the beaches until you wondered how any could have gotten past.

Although we did not target the sea trout due to the closed season, we did get a few that were 20 plus inches.

Spanish mackerel were on the bite along the coast, especially on the artificial reefs. Fishing with live pilchards, 8 pound test line, 20 pound mono leader and a 4/0 #202 gold hook without weight, we free-lined the bait over the top of the rock piles for the best results. There has been an unusual number of tarpon hooked in November on both the Gulf and Bay. They were usually hooked on tackle too light to handle them because they are not expected at this time of year. I did not get any hook ups on my boat. Kingfish are still in 50 to 60 feet of water, but scattered.

The action is hot offshore but the weather can be a problem. Spanish mackerel have been thick along the coast and not hard to limit out in a short period of time. Free-lined live pilchards have been the best bait, but live shrimp have also been working well. I have found that anchoring on the reefs rather than drifting, has held the schools around the boat much longer. Most lures will work on mackerel, but I prefer a Diamond jig for its long life, better casting, and fast sinking action. If you dress your jig with a strip of mackerel belly, you will double your strikes. Diamond jigs require a very fast retrieve whether you are dropping it to the bottom directly under the boat or casting out.

Kingfish are running good in about 45 to 65 feet of water and reef M-7 has been a major player. Again, large live pilchards have been the number one bait, but you need to use a castnet to catch them. The kings are also taking large live shrimp, small blue runners and sardines that you can catch with a gold hook bait rig. Bombers and spoons have been working well when trolling. Mix it up, large and small, deep and shallow and colors until you find what is working that day.

The bay has been OK! Trout, pompano, Spanish mackerel have been on the grass flats and taking live bait and jigs. Redfish are slow but are still around the docks. Remember that the cobia have been showing up everywhere from the bay to the deep Gulf, so keep your eyes open.

Kingfish are still at the Cuda Hole area! The Cuda Hole is a large area with a rough bottom of lime stone ledges, breaks, and large rocks. Roughly speaking, it starts at about nine miles off of New Pass at 240 degrees and it ends at the artificial reefs M-6, M-7, and M-8. This is a good place to use a chart recorder for bottom fishing and finding new spots. When the kings are running, you will find grouper under the kings and you could even pick one up on top while trolling. Along with the kings, we are getting Spanish mackerel, bonito, barracuda, and a few cobia. It has been good for snapper, grouper and a variety of reef fish on the bottom.

Inshore, the cobia are here but are not dependable! You might find them on the grass flats, passes, beaches, or on the (I) reefs. They are more of a by-catch rather than a target fish. A large cobia that weighed in at 55 lbs. was caught on a jig in New Pass during the week.

Flounder have been in New Pass, so you may want to try the East tip of Sands Point. Working the docks around Buttonwood Harbor, Otter Key, to name a couple of spots, have produced redfish and a few snook. Live bait of all kinds has been the number one producer. Even kingfish are taking live shrimp along with pilchards, and small blue runners.

Of course, trolling and casting artificial lures is also bringing in some nice fish. The standards are working well, so I have no magic bullets to report.

The kings started to get hot this week! Most of the action was around M-7, "Johnson Reef" which is 11.25 NM at 258 out of New Pass at 27 16.25' / 82 47.80'. Most of the kings were under 12 pounds. Live bait was the best bait but trolling was also working. Capt. Paul Toren and friends aboard his boat "Calliope" boated a 25 pound king while slow trolling. They barely got a flat line out when the smoker hit a 17 long A Mackerel colored Bomber.

Large live pilchards were working well, but small blue runners caught via gold hook bait rigs on M-7 were candy to the kings. Spanish mackerel were also on the bite, averaging 3 to 4 pounds. I did best on Spanish mackerel along the beach reef! Roehr reef (I-C) in 25 feet of water was my hot spot for Spanish mackerel. I had to anchor and free line live pilchards over the top of the structure.

Wednesday while anchored on the Alan Fisher reef (I-2) we caught and released a 50 pound Jewish! The Jewish took a large pinfish on the bottom that was meant for cobia or grouper. The cobia were slow for us after the cold front.

Bay fishing seemed to be best for redfish and flounder, around the docks and passes, but the action was less than hot. Remember! Spotted Sea Trout are closed until Jan. 1.

Good fishing is the word! There have been cobia, flounder, grouper, snapper, Spanish mackerel, pompano, redfish, and a few kingfish. We are not just sitting in one place and filling the box, but we are getting some really nice fish, and a mixed bag.

The cobia have been our number one target fish. They are running from the beach out to forty feet of water. I have been doing well on the inshore reefs with live bait. Look for the reefs holding large schools of small jacks and blue runners. There are a number of ways to fish the cobia and they will eat most any live bait you put in front of them. The small jacks and runners can soon empty your bait tank of shrimp and pilchards, but the action of hooking the small fish will attract the schools of cobia to your boat. One way to get around losing so much bait is to use a small jig to catch the small jacks and runners. While keeping another rod baited with a live bait. Watch for the cobia following the hooked jacks to the boat and then drop your live bait in front of the cobia. If you fish with live pinfish and grunts, you can fish both on the bottom and the top with a balloon. You will have very few problems from the jacks and runners, but you still want to jig for the small fish to attract the cobia. Fishing on the bottom will also produce grouper, snapper, and flounder on all the inshore (I) (M) reefs.

For the Spanish mackerel, a large live pilchard has worked best, but artificial will work. You can buy live pilchards, pinfish, and shrimp at the New Pass bait shop, but there is plenty of bait on the bay for you to catch on your own. Use a cast-net or drift over the grass flats with a small hook and cut bait for the grunts and pinfish. If everyone fishes, it should take no longer than an hour to get your bait.

Pompano are spread out on all the grass flats and taking live shrimp and jigs. You will also get trout, mackerel, and bluefish in the same places. Redfish are under the docks, so put your bait (shrimp, pilchards, or small pinfish) with a small split- shot under the docks and boats. If you hook a redfish, keep fishing the same exact spot because they like to use a particular feeding point for a long time. You can also hook a snook in the same place.

Cobia, Spanish mackerel and flounder are on the bite! The coastal waters out to about the thirty foot depth are holding plenty of fish. The mackerel are running in small schools and are taking live bait and lures by casting and trolling. We have been drifting live bait (shrimp and pilchards) on top for the mackerel. I have also been casting a small Diamond jig with a fast retrieve. The mackerel have been up to 4 pounds and you must be ready to fish them when you hit a school because they soon move on. The cobia have been on most of the coastal reefs but have been staying down so far. The cobia have been taking any live bait they can or think they can fit in their mouths. Look for follow ups from any hooked fish and especially a hooked cobia. Flounder have been all over, but especially strong in the passes along the drop-off, docks, and bridges. Also look for flounder around the (I) reefs offshore. They love pinfish and so do the cobia and grouper.

Trout, bluefish, mackerel, and pompano have been coming off the grass flats although the action is not keeping up with the previous mentioned. Redfish are still being caught around the docks and are widely dispersed.

Due to the strong East wind, the deeper gulf water has been rocky for most of the week so I have been sticking to the coast. An East wind however, will keep the water flat for a few miles offshore. There are plenty of artificial reefs, natural bottom structures, and breaks to fish within three miles of the beach.

If you fish for flounder in the pass, also look for Spanish mackerel feeding on top. Use a free-lined live bait or artificial lure to catch the mackerel. Use a small weight and fish the bottom for the flounder. Flounder have a subtle bite, so a slow easy pull of the rod will get you a hookup. In fact, it may feel like you are hung-up on the bottom. When you feel his head shake, you have him. Some of the flounder have run over 4 pounds.

It looks like this will be a good weekend to hang out the old "Gone Fishing" sign! The coastal and bay waters have lit up with flounder, Spanish mackerel, and cobia.

The flounder have been plentiful along New Pass. Fishing from the docks, bridges, or wading along the edge of the channel produced some nice flounder up to three pounds along with Spanish mackerel. In fact, for a short time this morning, we stayed tied to the dock and managed to put a half dozen in the box. We also caught some mackerel before the tide stopped moving.

We have been using live shrimp and pilchards on both the bottom with a 1/4 oz. split shot for flounder, and free-lining for mackerel. The grass flats have plenty of trout, but a lot of them are short. Bluefish, mackerel, and pompano are also coming off the grass flats.

In the Gulf, I have been fishing the rock piles in 18-30 feet of water and catching cobia, Spanish mackerel, bluefish. You will also find sharks feeding on the mackerel schools. Fish the bottom at the edges of the reefs for flounder.

The cobia are taking live shrimp or pilchards and are moving around in small schools. It is possible to get several fish on at the same time, so look for follow ups when bringing a fish to the boat. Most of the cobia have been under 33 inches, but we have landed some keepers. I have also seen single tarpon roll in these areas. Snook are still on the surf but slow on the bite.

I am sure that all the passes are holding fish but I did not need to move around much the last part of the week.

The last half of September has been slow but we are still getting some fish. At times it has been hot. Offshore fishing has been hampered by the large number of jellyfish. The heavy invasion of extra large jellyfish is unusually thick this summer. They look as though one could fill a 5 gallon bucket plus the tentacles stick to your line, especially when trolling.

The M-reefs are holding barracudas. You can usually hookup by trolling tube lures or live blue-runners around and over the artificial reefs. Snapper are still taking large live shrimp fished on the bottom along with an occasional keeper grouper. Some red grouper are on the Swiss cheese area (72'-85' depth) at 240-250 degrees. The grouper are taking most any kind of bait if you can find them. Most chart recorders are not of much help in this area because it is flat with pot holes that do not show up on your recorder. I call this area "Drift and Mark." As soon as I get a good fish on, I throw the marker jug over the side. Then I go back and work the area thoroughly because it may be on or close to a feeding point.

The bay has been a little better with a larger variety of fish such as trout, snook, pompano, permit, snapper, Spanish mackerel and redfish.

All the names are there, although the fishing is on the slow side. Live shrimp will produce the most for the time spent. Artificial lures are a lot more economical to use due to the large amount of all kinds of small fish that steal your bait.

Most all of the popular soft tail jigs work well. It is more a matter of whose hands they are in than any thing else. One lure I find better for beginners is the Love-Lure! It requires a steady retrieve (no bouncing or jerking), just fast enough to clear the grass on the bottom. It is a tandem lure that gives the impression that bait B is intent on catching bait A while not paying attention to the surrounding dangers. That will alert all predators to an easy meal. Law of the land and sea :-).

We had a good week of fishing on the bay except for Friday! We caught pompano, sea trout, bluefish, snapper, and some Spanish mackerel. We were not overwhelmed with keeper fish but most anglers were able to catch dinner or take a few nice pictures. The action was steady with a lot of small trout, jacks, and an assortment of other species to fill in. Although artificial baits were working, I used large live shrimp to help my less experienced anglers achieve better results.

I found all my fish on the grass flats as we moved from flat to flat. We fished the A.M. hours only. On Little Sarasota bay south of the Ringling bridge, we fished both sides of the Inter- Coastal around marker (6) drifting the shrimp along the grass. On the west side of Sarasota bay, we drifted the Middle ground flats just east of Zwicks channel and on the east side of the bay, we drifted the Ringling grass flats just off the Ringling home.

These were not the only places that were holding fish, but they were enough to keep us busy. You can find redfish and snook around the docks, but on the average the action was slow. I could mention a lot of more the species being caught, but they are just random fish.

When drifting the flats, keep note of where you catch fish and mark the spot with a small marker, Loran, or eyeball. Return to the spot via a wide circle, but do not motor over it. Repeat the drift until you stop getting fish and move on. Sometimes the fish will only hit on one side or one clump of grass and anchoring your boat to fish that spot hardly ever works. That seems to be a very hard habit for some to break. This rule only applies to the large grass flats and has few exceptions.

Friday was a closeout for us with only small trout concentrated in small areas. We left the bay by late morning and fished the (I) reefs in 25 to 30 feet of water without any results. The Marine patrol stopped by and said it was the same on all the boats they checked. I would say it was probably due to a barometric change.

This week I could name every fish that should be in the area at this time of year and someone would have caught some. The truth is that it has been slow and spotty both on the bay and the Gulf.

Monday was the perfect day! It was cool and dry with a light breeze and the water was clear, but not too clear. We had 200 large live shrimp in the bait tank and due to the weather, everyone was full of energy. The four people I had on board caught fish and used almost all of the 200 shrimp in four hours but never put a keeper in the boat.

On the other hand, there were some nice pompano caught during the week on yellow jigs and live shrimp in the passes. Sea trout, Spanish mackerel, mangrove snapper and a few bluefish were caught on the grass flats using live bait and jigs.

Offshore trolling produced barracuda, Spanish mackerel, and a few little tunny. If you would like to catch a large cuda, try trolling a large live Spanish mackerel. We still found plenty of small mangrove snapper hitting fast on live shrimp on the bottom. The big Jewish are still on M-7 and will take a large live snapper or other large live bait.

The barge is an old wreck about 18 miles off Sarasota at 240 degrees in 80 feet of water (27'09"72/082'52"97) and it has been good for cuda. M-7 is an artificial reef about 12 miles at 254 degrees in 50 feet of water (27'16"31/082'47"95) and has been good for Jewish. M-3 (27'16"81/082'43"15) is an artificial reef about 7 miles off Sarasota at 243 degrees and within the state line. M-3 is in 40 feet of water and has been very good for the small snapper, along with a variety of other fish.

The first part of the week was very productive on the bay. Spotted sea-trout was at the top of the list with some well over 20" and up-to 26", but the average size was about 17". The Ringling grass flats had the biggest trout and the middle ground grass flats had the most fish but predominately short fish. Also, along with the trout, we caught mangrove snapper, pompano, and bluefish.

We drifted the flats with large live shrimp on light spinning tackle using 20 pound leader with a 4/0 #202 gold hook. It is best to cast ahead of the boat's drift and slowly retrieve your line as the boat approaches the bait. Always leave a bow of slack line so that your bait can swim naturally. When you see the line begin to straighten out, you will know you have a pickup. This method takes a good sense of line awareness and casting ability. For the beginner, I let them drag the line behind the boat's drift and have them drop back 5 to 10 feet of slack line at a time, then let the boat's drift take up the slack. I have them do this 5 to 10 times depending on the speed of the drift and then reel the bait in and start all over again. Most of the pickups will occur during the time the boat's drift is taking up the slack line because this is when the shrimp can sink naturally.

There are still plenty of mangrove snapper and spotty grouper fishing on the artificial and natural reefs in forty to sixty feet of water. Redfish are still around the docks and are being caught in many locations. Today (Friday), the fishing was poor on the bay, probably due to the high winds and front moving in. It may pass by Sunday or Monday.

We started off the week on the middle ground grass flats east of Zwicks channel and had plenty of action on the ultra-light tackle. The flats are loaded with baitfish and small trout. If you have the time and a good supply of live shrimp, you can get a few big ones. Along with the trout, we caught some mackerel, bluefish, pompano, and some keeper snapper.

Mangrove snappers are plentiful on the (M) reefs! We fished M-3 which is in 40 ft of water and about 8 miles offshore. We could quickly limit out on small snapper along with some yellow-tail snapper, Bermuda chub, and Spanish mackerel. The live pilchards I had would only work on the mackerel. The snapper however, wanted only live shrimp. Live shrimp was making a big difference for us with the bottom fishing on the (M) reefs. I had live grunts, pinfish and pigfish but did not do much with them. We even caught the just short groupers on live shrimp.

Today we went for the big guys! Mark Zisser of Missouri got a Jewish that was almost 300 lbs. We had enough guys on board to get the big fish through the tuna door for some pictures, but they could not get his tail off the deck. To achieve a good live release, we used a 4 lb. weight on a heavy line attached to the grouper's lip via a light leader and small barb-less hook. When I get the fish down to the bottom I give the line a quick jerk to brake the fish off. This is the best method I know of to get a fish back down to the bottom and you do not need to stick him to let the air out. I have been fishing these fish in about 40 to 50 ft of water and the best bait is a live fish of 12" or more. On this trip we used live snapper.

This is the third week of great pompano fishing! Pompano and permit have been the thickest in Big Pass an hour before and an hour after the change of tide. They can still be caught at any time of day or night and everywhere on the bay and beach. Lots of small sharks have also come into the bay along with a few larger ones that have been taking our pompano. Most of the small sharks have been black-nose and shovel-nose and will take jig or bait.

Spotted sea trout have been plentiful on the grass flats! We have found the grass flats very active with a variety of fish. There were mostly small trout with a few nice keepers along with pompano, bluefish, mackerel and some snapper just to name a few of the eating fish. Live shrimp and pilchards free-lined have worked very well for us on the flats, but in the pass we have been using ½ oz to 3/8 oz yellow pompano jigs tipped with a small piece of shrimp.

Redfish are holding around the docks and the small snook are still along the surf, but that does not mean that you can't catch a large snook. I would concentrate on dusk and dawn for the best chance of hooking a big one. Some large bluefish (for Florida) around 8-10 pounds have been taken at Longboat Pass.

The offshore fishing seems to have been quiet this last week unless you made a very long run to cooler water about 25 miles (D-6 26'57.20'-82'54.20') or more. You should find the dolphin, blackfin tuna and maybe even a wahoo. The inshore reefs have been holding some cobia, grouper, mackerel and snapper. The action has been hit and miss, but the fish are there and live bait has been the best bet.

Bait-fish are plentiful on the bay and run in many different sizes all over the flats. Look for the schools of bait being attacked by fish and birds and you will find some hot action, especially if it is glass minnows balled up.

Pompano are still the hot fish on the inside! Fishing this week was almost a carbon copy of last week. A few added incentives, such as permit up to three pounds are running along with the pompano in Big passes. Both are taking 3/8 oz. yellow pompano jigs tipped with a small piece of shrimp. They are moving around a lot on both tides, so you need to watch the other boats if your action stops and keep trying different spots until you hit a school.

Snook are along the surf, but you need to chum with live pilchards if you want a lot of action. Most are small fish. You can also find snook in good numbers at the north end of Sarasota bay, near and above Longbar. Redfish are still on the bite around the docks, but I don't like to fish the docks this time of year because of the heat and lack of air flow.

Although I have not fished for them, I have seen tarpon rolling in the passes and on the grass flats early in the morning. You don't want to confuse them with the large splashes you may see out of the corner of your eye. They are caused by large eagle rays that have come into the bay. If you happen to be looking in the right direction, you will see these three foot plus rays fly out of the water and come down flat in an effort to stun their prey.

The snapper and grouper have been worth the effort offshore, but not consistent enough to point you in a direction. I always take live bait of different sizes and spices offshore with me for bottom fishing and large live shrimp are on the list, when I can get them. Large live shrimp have sometimes made the difference as far as taking some fine table fish home or not. Of course a couple of dozen large live shrimp would also make a great Marinara sauce :-).

Pompano have been at the top of the list all week! Although the pompano have been all over the bay, my best catches were in Big Pass. We have been using 3/8 oz yellow pompano jigs tipped with a small piece of shrimp and bouncing the jigs along the bottom while drifting. Using sand fleas found along the beach (if you can find them) could almost double your catch, but this could be a lot of hard work. Using a whole live shrimp with at least a 1/4 oz split shot attached directly in front of the shrimp will work in the deep passes. On the shallow grass flats, a free- lined live shrimp or a lighter jig will do the job.

Sea trout are still on the bite and shrimp will work, but the larger trout are being caught on a small grunts, pinfish and pigfish fished with a float. The best area has been just north of Sarasota bay above Long bar. Occasionally, while fishing the flats and passes, bluefish, Spanish mackerel and small cobia are being caught.

The snapper fishing has picked up offshore between fifty and eighty feet and the grouper are hanging out around the same areas. Further out, the dolphin are in for the summer. Look for the weed lines and remember to keep one fish in the water at all times to hold the school around your boat. Spanish mackerel and cobia have been in close within three miles, but have slowed up this week. This does not mean that they are gone, so give them a try. There is plenty of white bait on the bay and you can also buy them at New Pass Bait Shop most of the time. Some of the white bait I have netted at the Ringling grass flats has been very large and has made very good grouper bait.

Not a bad week for Spanish mackerel, redfish and barracuda. I started off my days by running to the Ringling grass flats before daylight so that I would be ready when the first schools of bait- fish came to the surface at first light. The bait well was filled by the time the sun came up. For Spanish mackerel and cuda, we only had to run out to the artificial reef (I-2) which is about three miles offshore from New Pass. We had to fish light with eight pound test lines and at the most a twenty pound mono leader using a Bimini twist to attach the leader to the line. A 4/0 gold 202 hook worked best for me. The 202 hook has a light long shank that helps lower the number of cutoffs due to the mackerel's sharp teeth. The leader is just for body and tail wear on your line and if the mackerel get real wary, attach the hook straight to your line without leader. The mackerel were medium sized, two to three pounds and some bigger. The best I could do with my anglers was one fish out of four in the boat due to cutoffs and barracuda.

The best bait for the barracuda of course, is live mackerel. Barracuda are very wary and have excellent eyesight so I do not use a steel leader when I free-line for them. I use a forty to sixty pound mono leader with 5/0 hook or larger, depending on the size of the bait. Dino Greco of Hinsdale IL brought a nice fifty-pound cuda to the boat that he caught on thirty pound line and live Spanish mackerel. We took pictures and had a live release. The cuda made three beautiful jumps, one about twenty feet long.

Redfish were hot around the docks for most of the week. The live white bait worked well on them and a little chumming could pick up the action. Some small sharks were in with the redfish and added to the action. I did not fish the docks myself. It gets hot back there this time of year without a breeze, but if you fish early in the morning or sundown it can be pleasant.

We had some good days with some new fish on the scene! Spanish mackerel and cobia were on the inshore reefs in about 25 to 30 feet of water. On Wednesday and Thursday we caught a lot of Spanish mackerel using live pilchards at the Alan Fisher reef (I- 2). The light eight pound tackle with twenty pound mono leader worked best. I anchored on the south end of the reef and free- lined the bait on top. The mackerel came and went in schools and ran up to about three pounds. Some barracuda constantly circled the boat waiting for us to hook a large mackerel for them to grab. One cuda about four feet long that I nicknamed "the sheriff" because of the large silver spoon stuck on his upper right side chased a large mack into the boat hitting one of my fishermen on the left shoulder. On Friday we only had a few mackerel in the early morning.

The cobia seemed to be in closer to the beach. They were in less than 25 feet of water around the Donald Roehr reef (I-3) and other unnamed rock piles. Although they were not consistent, they would show up unexpectedly and take whatever live bait you had on at the time. We hooked them on the bottom while fishing for grouper or on top while fishing macks. There were not a lot of cobia but enough to keep us looking for them. The grouper were mostly small and we did not get any keepers but we did lose a few big ones.

Some big permits are still on the M reefs but the action had slowed down by the latter part of the week. The bay is still producing some trout and on my way back to the boat ramp Friday afternoon, I noticed a large school of bull redfish east of the sail boat club at New Pass.

The last few weeks have stabilized into a consistent pattern of what, where and how on both bay and gulf. Spotted sea trout, pompano and bluefish are on the grass flats taking live bait along with artificial, pompano preferring live shrimp or yellow jigs tipped with small bits of shrimp. There is plenty of white bait on the grass flats, especially off of the Ringling home. While throwing my castnet for bait at first light before sunup, I have seen tarpon feeding on the flats. The hour before sunup would probably be the best time for a tarpon hookup during the hot summer months.

Permit have moved to the shallower artificial reefs M-1, M-3 and M-4, in forty feet of water. You must take large live shrimp or small live crabs along with you if you think you may like to fish for them. You can drift over the reefs and free- line your live bait out behind the boat's drift. On a windy day you may need to add a small split shot. Sight fishing is the most fun! Drift close to the school and cast into them but do not run over them with the boat. There are plenty of cuda on the reefs although they seem to have tight mouth.

Red and black (gag) grouper in the keeper size (20") seem to start at about forty feet and become larger and more numerous the further you go offshore but you won't need to make a lot of room in the home freezer on most trips. Gray snapper and a few yellow tail snapper are also on the reefs. Dolphin are being found from twenty to forty miles plus, so look for the floating grass and fish the edge of grass. Remember to keep the last fish in the water until you hook the next fish and that will keep the school around the boat.

If you need a good workout, Jewish are on most all of the artificial reefs. Use a large live bait and heavy tackle but do not tie anything to you. The largest of the grouper family, Jewish can reach a weight of 700 pounds.

Fishing has quieted down in the past week, but all the species were heard from. The pompano were feeding on the grass flats and would take large live shrimp while we were fishing for trout. Large schools of bait fish are on the flats but most were too small for my castnet. To get the large pilchards via castnet, you need to be on them that half hour before the sun comes up. After the sun comes up, you need to anchor and chum the bait up to the boat. The summer shrimp will soon be too small to make good bait, so then white bait, grunts and pinfish will make up most of our live bait.

Tarpon are moving into the bay and one school has made its home at New Pass bridge. Your best bet for a big tarpon is still along the beaches. Paul Torin of Bird Key landed and released a 76" tarpon off of Longboat Key Thursday at an estimated weight of 150 pounds. It took him forty minutes on thirty pound line. It was Capt. Paul's first big tarpon and he did a good job. He kept the time down and had a good live release. Just as a reminder for you all, Paul and his buddy Bill forgot to bring a camera.

Offshore trips have produced kingfish, Spanish mackerel, barracuda and grouper but by Friday it was very slow. Even the schools of bait fish were taking the day off. Only the barracuda were on alert just in case a nice fish was hooked. When it gets this slow, I like to take off all wire leaders and hope for a lip hookup. I am sure the Jewish are still on the wrecks, but I did not have any brave souls who wanted to try it.

The first part of the week was slow due to the unseasonable windy weather. Toward the end of the week we were able to fish in the Gulf and found lots of action from the beach out to sixty feet of water, about fifteen miles offshore. I did not spend any time on the tarpon but they were on the bite. Most of the guide boats did well and they produced a few tarpon inside on the windy days. Large pinfish will work well for live bait and are plentiful on the grass flats.

Spanish mackerel and little tunny were all over the Gulf and on the calm days could be heard crashing the bait from a mile away. Sometimes they could be picky about taking the bait but plenty of fish were caught by trolling and casting live bait or jigs into the large schools of feeding fish. It was a good week for red grouper and black (gag) grouper both on natural bottom and the artificial reefs.

This week I was booked to fish for Jewish as I have been for the past few years in June. Jewish are the largest of our local fish excluding the shark. Jewish average one hundred to three hundred pounds and can reach six hundred pounds or better. Unlike tarpon, Jewish are not for everyone and are true back breakers. Since the ban on Jewish, the stocks have grown rapidly on the inshore reefs and especially the artificial reefs in forty to sixty feet of water. Thursday we had a pickup about every twenty minutes with two people fishing. A lot of fish are lost due to the sharp structure on the artificial reefs and some of the fish are just too big. We caught large pinfish on the way out, but any large bait fish will work. The pinfish are good for black and red grouper that are also on the wrecks at this time. Barracuda are always in view over the structure. They can give some great top water action and will take tube lures or live sardine with a very light leader.

Due to the unstable weather conditions we had to fish in the bay for most of the week and the fishing was about as unstable as the weather. The best I could do was to take one or two keeper fish per spot before it went dead. I drifted the grass flats with large live shrimp and free-lined for trout. Casting ahead of the boat's drift and slowly retrieving the slack line as the boat moved toward the bait so the line could sink worked the best for us. At times it was hard to see the patches of grass because of the cloudy water, cloud cover and wind rippling across the top, but we needed to cast to the dark patches of grass as we drifted across the flats. Along with the trout we took some flounder, bluefish and Spanish mackerel and a lot of ladyfish and jacks.

The snook and redfish were under the docks but playing the same game. If you where lucky enough to get one, you would need to move on to another spot. This might sound good if you are the only one fishing but I am talking about three or four people fishing at the same time.

When fishing the docks from a boat, I use at least twelve pound test so that we have a better chance of pulling the fish out from around the dock pilings. There is no place for a light line or drag when fishing the docks from your boat. On the other hand, the straightedge is different when fishing from the docks or any structure, you have a better chance of getting the fish to run out to open water. There you can play the fish until you feel the it is tired and then bring the fish back to the dock for landing when you have better control.

Offshore in about 58 to 60 feet of water the keeper size red grouper were on the bite and taking dead bait along with live bait. You can still get a kingfish, but watch out for the barracuda. There is an abundance of smaller bottom fish for the dinner table and if fished with light tackle can give you a lot of fun. Tarpon are along all the beaches still and getting hot to the north of Longboat Key.

The inshore reefs have been full of large rays and sharks! It is normal for the sharks and rays to come in this time of year but they are larger than they have been in recent years. Sting rays and eagle rays have been jumping out of the water consistently all day and some would be two hundred pounds plus. We have boated some stingray up to one hundred pounds on thirty pound test line using live bait such as blue-runners and grunts free- lined or on a float.

Many of the sharks that have been taken were mostly black-tips less than a hundred pounds. The big guys have proven to be a bit too much for our light tackle biting #7 steel leader in half and stripping off spools of line while we tried to fish for tarpon, kings and Spanish mackerel. We are also getting some keeper black grouper (gag) off the bottom, but just a few. The tarpon are really strong along Casey Key and Siesta Key, but you can find them along all the beaches now.

On the bay snook and redfish are on the bite around and under the docks. We have been using live shrimp, pinfish and whitebait. Chumming with injured whitebait for snook and old dead shrimp for redfish will stimulate them to bite. Trout are still coming off the grass flats but not in large numbers. The weekend was not good for fishing due to the weather, but it should settle down by the middle of the week.

We will have a large variety of fish to target this month from tarpon to whiting. So I won't go into all the names now because almost all the fish we get in this area will be here for June. The weather will make the difference for what and where I fish.

It has been a good week for all with plenty of bait, fish and good weather. The kingfish are still running on the M-reefs in about forty feet of water and taking live bait on a drift. Although there is plenty of bait on the reefs, they have been playing hard to get until about 9:30 in the morning. So if you would like to get an early start, it would be best to net some whitebait before you head out. The Ringling grass flat has been holding plenty of bait and if you get there at first light it won't take long to fill your bait well.

Tarpon have been running along all the beaches with a better concentration between Casey Key and Point of Rocks. Although the tarpon are not always on the bite, you are sure to get a few good casts into them. Live crabs and pinfish or most large bait fish are working.

The inshore reefs and bay are holding a lot of flounder for this part of the country and live bait fished on the bottom will get them along with an occasional keeper grouper. Redfish have been hot this week but of course they have their particular spots to feed. You need to work the docks until you find a feeding point and then stick with it. I use a small shot and strong 3/0 hook on forty pound mono leader. Live bait is best. Large shrimp, grunts, pinfish and whitebait such as pilchards will do the job. Spotted sea trout are coming off most of the flats and some are in the twenty plus inches. Large live shrimp free-lined or with a popping cork and small live grunts with a popping cork are producing most of the trout.

Plugs and jigs are also working and you can enhance your jigs by tipping them with a very small piece of bait so as not to alter their action.