Reports 98

2007 REPORTS

2006 REPORTS

2005 REPORTS

2004 REPORTS

2003 REPORTS

2002 REPORTS

2001 REPORTS

2000 REPORTS

1999 REPORT

1997 REPORT

Sometimes things happen just the way you want them to! Remington Lawyer is an 8 year old from the Mid-West and this was his first saltwater fishing trip. Monday afternoon he came aboard with his grandfather, Rodney and his mother, Mary. Mary introduced me to Rem and told me he loved to fish but had never caught a big fish. This brought a quick response from Rem "yes I have caught a big fish" he said, not wanting to look like an amateur in front of the Captain. I know how he felt. As we were leaving the dock, an excited father came running over to tell me that his 8 year old son had just landed a large cobia all by him self out on the (I) reefs. I thought to myself, I hope I can do the same for Rem. Rem had only used spin-cast reels but quickly adjusted to the open face reel with 12 pound test line that I handed to him. He had to :-)! Within 5 minutes of reaching the (I-2) reef in 30 feet of water, all three reels were screaming. We had been drifting with live shrimp and hit a school of Bull Reds. Two of the reds got off but Rem held onto his with both hands as the big red pulled off line and then it stopped and boiled the surface. Rem had no problem getting his pull and reel rhythm as I talked him through it. After about a 15 minute and a very hard battle, Rem brought in a 25 pound redfish. We took some nice pictures with grandpa holding the fish because it was too big for Rem to hold up. Rem baited his own hook and set the hook when the fish hit. Then he brought the fish in without help from anyone. I only netted the fish so that it would be a true catch, then we released it.

I fished the artificial (I) reefs most of the week and although the action was not constant, we did catch cobia, snapper, flounder, large sheepshead and some grouper. Some boats on longer trips to the Icebox area off of Venice did well on large mangrove snapper and grouper.

Bay fishing has produced some redfish in Big Pass but it was not as good as it had been. There are plenty of fish on the bay, but it has been a mixed bag and hard to pinpoint. Pompano are still being caught in the pass. Sheepshead are getting stronger with Spanish mackerel, bluefish and trout scattered around the flats.

In fact, I could fill the report with names of fish because every thing seems to be represented in some small number from tarpon to whiting and Jewish to triple-tail. The only thing is, the fish will stop biting from time to time but they are sticking around and with all this good weather you can't lose.

Although our first winter front dropped in on us this week, we still had some good action on the bay. The redfish are still hot in the north east corner of New Pass and hitting well on live shrimp. It is a very small area that allows no more than two or three boats to be within casting distance at any one time, so you need to get there early. Even if you get there early, a tide change or an increased current could move you off of it. This is characteristic of the redfish feeding habits! One small spot will produce fish after fish but not one bite when fishing five feet to either side. We free-lined large live shrimp using 8 to 12 pound test line rigged with 30 pound mono leader and a 3/0 hook. A small split shot can be added if the current gets too strong.

On Thursday, we drifted Big Pass with live shrimp on the bottom hoping to find a pompano or flounder, but we found plenty of large ladyfish and landed a 42" cobia instead. The cobia hit just after I had tightened my customer's drag. I had just explained that he needed to fish with a stronger drag in Florida saltwater than what he was accustomed to in the fresh water back home. As I went to help someone else and looked back at him, he was holding on with two hands, the rod was bent in a perfect (L) shape and the reel was screaming. The cobia took half a spool of line on the first run up current. Tom Williams landed his first cobia and did it on 12 pound test line in about 15 minutes and did a good job of it.

I also found that Harts artificial reef in the middle of the bay was very active during the week. The reef is holding a lot of bait fish and we caught grouper, snapper, sheepshead, trout and bluefish while drifting the reef. To land the keeper size grouper on this reef, you need to fish with a stout, short line and drift the bait just above the structure with a small weight of a quarter or a half ounce. For most of the other fish, I use no more than 12 pound test line with 30 pound leader.

The grass flats are also producing fish but I did not get to fish them myself. Reports of trout, bluefish, ladyfish and jacks were coming in from the boats that stopped to fish them.

It looks like the warm weather is coming back and if the wind allows it, I will be looking for cobia, grouper and flounder along the beaches on the artificial and natural reefs.

There are still some kingfish offshore but most of the action is with barracuda, little tunny and some nice grouper on the bottom. I spent most of my time just a mile or two off the beach fishing for cobia, Spanish mackerel and flounder.

Every day was unique! I never knew which fish would be the prevalent feeder and I kept three sets of rods ready at all times. Fishing the artificial reef "C" that is in about 25 feet of water, I used mostly live shrimp and Diamond jigs, but I am sure that many other baits would have worked as well this past week. Cobia was the big fish and on some days, the cobia action seemed to be non stop, while other days it was Spanish mackerel on diamond jigs or live bait with eight pound test line. Most of the time we spent switching from top to bottom and from light to heavy rigs. Sometimes all methods would be working at the same time for different species. The only times it really slowed down was when the wind stopped completely and the water got glassy.

We found flounder in small schools on the bottom up to three pounds and also the large sheepshead are beginning to show up. Trigger fish and grunts were plentiful as always. The cobia would take the bait on the bottom, free-lined or on a float and would eat live shrimp, crabs, fish or take an artificial bait. When the mackerel moved in, we went to the light rods and eight pound test line. Most of the mackerel were small but keeper size and the largest were caught on live bait.

On the bay, redfish have been the best that they have been in years. Big Pass and around the docks behind Otter Key have been the hot spots. Live shrimp fished on the bottom with a small split shot has produced redfish after redfish along with a few flounders. Of course sea trout, pompano, jacks and a variety of other fish are being caught but redfish are hot on the bay.

A new weather front is on the way in and may change a few things but we never know how or what it will effect.

It has been a great week for fishing along the beach with cobia, Spanish mackerel, flounder and some gag grouper. The fish have moved in and out of the artificial reefs located in 18 to 30 feet of water so you need to have a little patience during the slack time. Some boats found as many as 30 cobia coming up to them at one time. We have been anchoring on the reefs and fishing the bottom with large live shrimp using only a 1/4 oz split shot, 50 pound mono leader and 3/0 to 5/0 hook. 12 to 20 pound test line will cover most of the fish but putting down a big rod baited with a large grunt or pinfish may get some serious results. When the Spanish mackerel show up, you will want to free-line your bait or use a jig. Live pilchards have been best for the mackerel but are hard to find. The live shrimp or jigs have been working well enough. Bull redfish is in the same area and taking the same bait as the cobia and has been up to 30 pounds. Some of the other fish we have been catching around the reefs are flounder to 3 pounds, small snapper and some keeper gag grouper.

Kingfish are still being caught in 50 feet of water but have slowed down. Barracuda are plentiful and the bottom fishing is OK, but why run over fish to catch fish.

Pompano are hitting in Big Pass, but not all the time and you need to make sure the tide is moving. Drift the pass and fish the bottom with live shrimp, sand-fleas or bounce a yellow jig on the bottom. Along with the pompano, you will find plenty of jacks, ladyfish, some mackerel and small bluefish.

The Gulf has been beautiful so I have not fished much on the bay lately, but I see plenty of action on my way in and out plus my VHF keeps me undated. We are having some great fishing now but it is not 24 hours a day and stops as fast as it starts.

I use a very tight drag when fishing the bottom so that I can keep the grouper out of the structure. If you think you have a cobia on, you need to back off your drag because a cobia needs to run. One way to tell if you have a grouper or cobia is that the grouper will pull straight down and other fish like a cobia will start to pull more laterally. This is the time you need to back off your drag. Cobia are strong and long-lasting fish, so you need to play this fish. Most are lost at the boat because people try to boat them too early. Cobia have pulled a gaff or two out of my hands over the years :). I find a large salmon style net works best for fish up to forty or fifty pounds.

Although my reports have been slow getting out this month, the fishing has been good!

Spanish mackerel are thick along the beaches and hitting on jigs as well as live shrimp. Most of the mackerel have been small but keeper size with a few up to three pounds. Diamond jigs (3/8-1/2 oz) are my favorites for mackerel because of their lack of feathers and long casting ability. Large cobia have also been roaming the beach and around the reefs in the 18 to 30 foot depths. Don't look for them to hang around long, so have some fresh 12 to 20 pound test line spooled and ready if you want to do them on light tackle. Cobia will hit on the bottom as well as the top but you must put your bait in front of them if you see them on top.

Large flounder have been around the edges of the reefs offshore and that is probably the best place to fish for them. You also can find them most any place on the bay. Flounder love live bait and will take a jig

Pompano are still being caught in the passes but you need to move around when the tide changes. Yellow jigs, live shrimp and sand-fleas fished on the bottom are the best method. You can still find redfish and black drum around the docks.

Further offshore on the "M" reefs in 40 to 60 feet of water, we are still getting some kingfish with the live bait we catch on the gold hook bait rigs. The barracudas like the same bait but they also like the kings, so be quick :). We found plenty of snapper on the bottom and most were just legal. We hooked plenty of grouper but most were short.

If you want to take a lot of fish home, the best bet has been along the coast out to the 30 foot depth fishing for Spanish mackerel, flounder, cobia and small snapper. If you would like some kings and cuda action, you will need to go further offshore to the "M" reefs in 40 to 60 feet of water. If you are going offshore, plan on using live bait if you are serious and keep an open mind on whether to fish top or bottom. With a new weather front coming in, who knows what it will do to our fishing. Drifting the live sardines on a free-line over the reefs has been working for kingfish and cuda. I use only six inches of #6 steel leader and if I don't get a strike, I take off the steel just to pickup the action

PS The reason for a late report is that I was moving into a new computer, the Dell" Dimension XPS R450".

It has been very hard to pinpoint the action for the last two weeks and then it has been hot and cold. The kings are still here and very hungry about 12 miles offshore but the seas have been about 6' due to the high winds. Trolling spoons has been the best method with the water that rough.

I have stayed within 3 miles of the coastline and on the bay. At times, I found plenty of flounder in 25 feet of water on the (I) reefs and then return to catch only triggerfish and grunts. Occasionally we would find a nice grouper, snapper or cobia but nothing we could depend on. We used mostly large live shrimp for bait and fished on the bottom. We had some very large fish on that were just too big for 12 and 20 pound test line. Bull reds, Jewish, cobia and sharks are along the coast now which can result in sudden death when fishing in heavy structure. If you take the time to catch some nice pinfish for bait, you might be able to hook some big fish.

On the bay, I have caught plenty of black drum and a few redfish using live shrimp around the docks behind Otter Key. I use a #7 split shot with 40 pound leader and a 3/0 OShaughnessy hook. Remember that some of these fish can average 10 or 12 pounds and you can't let them take any line back around the pylons. For lots of action on light tackle, the ladyfish and jacks have been raising havoc in Big Pass feeding on small baitfish. Sometimes we saw schools of ladyfish a quarter of a mile wide and frothing the water while feeding on the schools of bait. Live shrimp and jigs of almost any type of jig worked. We did get a few pompano and trout on the grass flats, but not many.

Although the fishing is usually unpredictable, it is more so in the Spring and Fall. You can have too many fish to none, too small or too big, or a species you didn't expect to see but that’s what makes fishing fun. Try to keep a few different sizes of rods ready because you never know, when you stop to fish for trout, you might find a large cobia sitting in your spot.

Although the wind has blown out of the NE at 20 mph plus for the past week, we have had some great fishing along the coast. By Monday morning the kingfish action had started to dwindle. As we started out of New Pass Monday morning, I noticed some of the larger charter boats trolling north of the pass in less than 20 feet of water. We could see some Spanish mackerel being caught and hear some talk of kings on the VHF. We quickly found the bait close to the bell buoy and managed to put several greenbacks in the live well. I opted to head south about a 1/4 mile south of the bell where I had been getting my king action for the past week. I put the boat in idle speed, just enough to swim the baits along. I put two 7' spinning rods out with 20 pound test line, 50 pound mono leader, 6" steel leader and a 5/0 hook. We had just gotten it all together when we got a ferocious hit on the starboard rod. The rod was bent at 90 degrees and the Penn 750 was screaming off line. My two passengers were struggling hard to get the rod out of the rod holder while I was bringing in the second line so I could maneuver the boat. By the time they got the rod out, I could see that more than half of the line was gone and still going. I then got a quick glimpse of a fish jumping more than 150 yards from the boat. It was a forward jump as the fish was still running. I did not get a good look, but I felt it may not be a king or it was the biggest king I ever hooked. I started to chase the fish just fast enough to get back some of the line and then the fish made a big and famous jump. A tarpon, to our surprise, had taken our kingfish bait. Tony had a hard fight for an hour and a half as we maneuvered around the numerous crab traps but he finely succeeded in landing the 5'6" tarpon. After some quick picture taking we had a live release. Tony is from England and was the guest of Bill Kazimir from NJ. Tony, at age 65 had only fished for roach in England or what we might call a large freshwater shiner. This was his fish of a lifetime and he handled it like a pro with very little coaching from me.

Well you don't want to be looking for more tarpon at this time of year, but the good news is that we have plenty of keeper size grouper on the inshore reefs along with schools of cobia. Using live pinfish, greenbacks and large sardines, we found plenty of gag grouper, Jewish, cobia and sharks in 18 to 30 feet of water. I would recommend at least 30 pound test line when fishing for grouper. Live shrimp have produced some mangrove snapper but there was a lot of competition from the trigger fish. The bottom fishing has also been very good farther offshore but with the high winds it has been rough and why run over fish to catch fish. With a NE to E wind, the water has been comfortable out to about three miles.
Inshore the action has been good for redfish along Longbar at the north end of the bay using pinfish and live shrimp. The bay and beach have been full of jack for some fast action. There have been some trout, mackerel and pompano on the grass flats but that has been slow.

To pull grouper out of the structure, you need to lock your drag and use heavy leader but if you hook a large cobia, you need to quickly loosen your drag and let the fish run. When anchored, you can also put a live bait out the back and on a balloon for cobia and king. Cobia will take a bait off the bottom as well as off the top and always look for them to follow other hooked fish coming into the boat.

The kingfish are in and running along the beach! We have been fishing in 20 to 30 feet of water using live greenbacks and sardines for bait. Drifting, slow trolling and at anchor have produced some nice kings and a few cobia when using live bait. It has not been a real heavy run, but when they do come through, all your rods may get hit at the same time. Some of the kings are over 30 pounds. It is not common to have the kings run within a mile of the beach and it may be better well offshore, but with the high NE wind it has been very rough out there. The coastal water was calm out to two or three miles due to the offshore wind and we found plenty of baitfish. Spanish sardines and cigar minnows were the best bait but the hardest to find. They would hug the bottom while the greenbacks stayed on the surface and made up most of our bait along with some small blue runners. I have been fishing with 12 to 20 pound test line and rigging with 40 to 50 pound test mono leader, 6 inches of #6 wire and a 5/0 hook.

Flounder, redfish, trout, pompano, Spanish mackerel and a few bluefish have been coming in off the bay. The flounder have been best in the passes and the trout, pompano, mackerel and bluefish have been on the grass flats. Pat Ricciardi of Longboat Key caught one pompano that went 5 pounds on live shrimp. Most of the redfish have come from around the docks. The live shrimp are a good size now and will work well if you can keep the pinfish away :). Most of the popular lures and flies have been getting some good action but the wind has been hard on the fly fishermen. Middle Ground grass flats, Ringling grass flats and Helicopter bar have been some good spots for me.

The Fall run has started! Spanish mackerel, cobia, pompano and permit are just a few of the fish you can expect to catch. The Spanish mackerel were thick offshore from the beach out to about the thirty-foot depth (3 miles) and could be seen crashing into the bait-fish as the birds attacked from above. The macks have also moved inshore to Hart's reef. We used only Diamond jigs by Bead Chain (W2X 1/3 to ½ oz.) with 50 pound mono leader. I am sure that most small spoons and jigs will work as long as you use a fast retrieve when casting. How fast? I always say, you can't retrieve too fast for mackerel when using small reels. When trolling for the Spanish mackerel, a medium speed is fine.
Cobia have been caught on the artificial reefs along the coast in 18 to 30 feet of water and also a few in the bay. Live pinfish, grunts, pilchards and large shrimp are the best baits and can be fished on the bottom, free-lined or on a float. It all depends on the cobia. I start on the bottom and keep a rod ready without a weight in case I see them on top. While fishing the bottom, you may catch a flounder, grouper or snapper but there are a lot of hungry trigger fish down there too, so take plenty of bait with you.
Larger snapper and grouper have been caught with live bait on hard bottom in 65 feet of water. This is a place that a good chart recorder and/or the drift and mark method works. Mangrove and some mutton snapper along with the gag and red grouper have made up most of the catches.
Pompano and permit have been on and off all around the bay taking jigs and live shrimp. Look for them in the pass, on the flats and along the surf. When you find one, work the same area for some more and it may get hot for a while. The passes have also had cobia, small tarpon and jacks up to ten pounds. Working the fenders of the New Pass Bridge can give you a workout with the big jacks, if nothing else. You can find some nice redfish around the docks during the day but, the snook are still better at night.
On the down side, the bay is full of rays and catfish, so be careful when wading. Catfish can hurt as badly as rays and I think they may be attracted by the foot shuffling used to disperse the rays.

Mac Attack! Spanish mackerel were thick this morning just three miles off the beach halfway between New Pass and Big Pass. The mackerel were attacking large school of bait on the surface and were running in a mixed size, from one to four pounds. They staid in the area all morning and we left them biting. I had Bryan Hass from Sarasota and his dad who was visiting out for a four hour trip. Bryan and his dad soon had all the fish they wanted and spent most of the trip doing catch and release. We used only Diamond jigs in the 3/8 and 1/2 ounce size. Remember to use a fast retrieve if you are casting. Just follow the birds :).

This was not one of the best weeks to get out fishing because of the wind, but that should soon pass. Those who did get out had to find cover from the wind and spend a lot of time at the north end of the bay. Trout was the main fish caught on the flats.

Night fishermen were able to find some nice snook around most bridges and deep docks. An hour before and an hour after the change of tide is usually best. Fish the dark areas under the bridge with live bait. When fishing with a float, you will first feel a ping on your line when a snook hits but wait until he moves the float before striking. Stickney Point bridge has always been good for fishing snook at night.

There was some good action with flounder and jacks in New Pass but not much from pompano or Spanish mackerel. I do expect the mackerel to start soon because I had found some before.

Offshore fishing has been at a standstill due to the rough sea conditions and that too should pass soon.

We were lucky this time! George is gone and we are left with minimal damage to our coast line. Although taking a boat ride is not an option at this time, we will be back to normal in a few days.

The last day I fished was Wednesday and the weather was great. We fished the bay and found trout, pompano and Spanish mackerel. We had plenty of action using live shrimp on the Ringling grass flats but had a hard time getting a keeper trout. The pompano were jumping all around us but it was very hard to get a hookup that we could keep. I had taken 200 hundred shrimp with us in hopes of catching a few nice pompano, but other fish were biting too fast to give the pompano a chance. Pilchards, "whitebait," worked best for larger trout on Helicopter bar just south of Whale Key. Due to the direction of the wind, anchoring at the west end of the bar on the south side worked very well for trout.

As I was running east from marker 23 along the ICW at the north end of the bay, we found schools of Spanish mackerel feeding on schools of bait-fish. The mackerel were leaping out of the water to catch the very small bait-fish no more than a half inch long. Under the mackerel, large schools of jacks and ladyfish were also feeding. We caught a few nice mackerel by running up on the schools and casting small Diamond jigs using a fast retrieve. I am sure pilchards would have worked if you could have gotten them past the jacks. The mackerel were running up to three pounds. With all the bait on the bay, I am sure the mackerel fishing is going to get much better soon. Spanish mackerel will take both live shrimp and pilchards both free-lined and with a float. It is best not to use steel leader. I use a long shank 4/0 hook "202 Gold", 8 to 12 pound test line with a 20 to 30 pound test mono leader. You will find the mackerel mostly in open water in the passes, on the grass flats and in channels. They will favor different places at different times, so you need to be on the lookout.

Due to the choppy conditions offshore, I spent my time inshore fishing the grass flats and passes. We had splendid conditions for fishing on the bay with cooler temperatures, a nice breeze and not many people out. Our mainstay in fish was permit, trout and pompano. I found the permit in New Pass just west of the mouth and along the north side of the channel. The permit were hot during the change of tide. They would run under the boat in schools hitting all our jigs and breaking some 8 pound test lines due to over reactions with a short line :).

New Pass is loaded from bank to bank with small bait fish no more than a half to one inch long. The birds are feeding well on the surface and every once in a while, you can see a boil in the bait as a large fish feeds on them from underneath. I have also been watching schools of small tarpon in the 20 to 40 pound class rolling around the fenders of the New Pass bridge. From time to time, large schools of small jacks would froth the water feeding on the small bait fish. We were only fishing with pompano jigs tipped with a bit of shrimp. The largest fish was an occasional jack about 8 to 10 pounds. I am sure you could hookup with something bigger if you have the right bait or lure and of course patience.

Spotted seatrout were still on the Ringling grass flats and taking live shrimp as well as jigs but the action was not as good as last week. The pompano were on the grass flats and in the passes.

No matter where we fished, the action was very sporadic and we had a lot of down time but we were able to take some nice fish home. The large schools of baitfish are a good sign for the future of the bay and coastal waters. We may see a good run of Spanish mackerel, kingfish and cobia soon. The grouper and snapper fishing should also pickup around the "I" reefs. At this time, the "I" reefs have some nice snapper, an occasional keeper grouper and cobia being caught.

Variety was the word to describe last week's fishing and we didn't need to go very far. I only had two places that worked well for me. One was inshore and the other was offshore. The Ringling grass flats produced most of the action. There were sea trout with some of them measuring more than 20 inches, pompano up to 4 pounds, an occasional bluefish, Spanish mackerel, small grouper and snapper, stingrays, ladyfish and jacks up to eight pounds.

We found that as the tide increased speed, the fishing got better and a light wind helped a lot. Fishing with large live shrimp was the easiest and caught the bigger fish but lures worked well especially on the trout. I used 8 lb. test line with a 20 pound leader and 4/0 202 gold hook for the live shrimp. You can free- line the bait before or after the drift of the boat, but you need to periodically drop a loop of slack line out if dragging the bait. Then let the drift of the boat pull the slack out.

We didn't need to go far offshore to find some nice fish! The (I) reefs about two to three miles offshore in 30 feet of water held some nice mangrove snapper, flounder and an occasional keeper cobia or grouper. The latter not being too plentiful was there if you had the patience. Our small live grunts did not do much but when we put down some large live shrimp we had plenty of action. Using 12 pound test line was enough for most of the fish but we had to move up to at least 20 pound test to pull the larger fish out of the reef structure. We used 40 to 60 pound mono leader with a 1/4 ounce to a ½ ounce of lead. I use a 3/0 hook for shrimp and a 5/0 hook for small grunts and pinfish. Cobia were widely scattered and mostly being caught while bottom fishing with live bait but you need to keep an eye open for them on the surface. People unfamiliar with cobia usually mistake them for a shark. Cobias are attracted to all large floating objects including your boat, reef structures, manatees, large rays and smaller fish being caught. Cobia will take most live bait and artificial lures. Like all fish, never bring your bait or lure in from behind the fish, always cross its path or present it in front of the fish.

Throughout this past week, pompano has been the best bet in Big Pass. You probably won't need to make room in the freezer but you will have a very good chance of getting enough for dinner. You can find them on both tides, but I know the mornings have been working as long as there has been some current. The pompano have been moving around the pass and you may need to move around to find them. When you do find them, keep working the same spot over and over until they move. Watch the other boats to see if they have found any.

We are using mostly 3/8 ounce yellow pompano jigs and Wiggle jigs. You can make your regular jigs better for pompano by cutting back the hairs so that they are no longer than the bend of the hook. White and pink will work but yellow and chartreuse seem to work the best. The best bait by far is live sand-fleas but you need to catch them along the surf. Shrimp is the next best bait and you can buy those.

When fishing live bait in the pass for pompano, I add a 1/4 ounce split shot just above the eye of the hook and bounce it along the bottom. You don't need to use a jig with sand-fleas but it is the hottest combo when fishing the pass. When tipping jigs with shrimp I only use a very small peace of shrimp so that it does not slow down the dropping of the jig. Jigs need to hit the bottom hard and kick up a puff of sand to simulate a crab digging in. That is why you need short hairs on a jig. In fact nylon bristle is best because it has less resistance than hair or feathers. Sand-fleas have very little resistance due to their shape and work well whole on a jig.

The next best fish that is biting well at this time is mangrove snapper. Mangrove snapper love a good wreck! Unlike grouper, snapper prefers the wrecks and artificial reefs to natural hard bottom. I don't mean to say you can't catch both in both places, but the probabilities for snapper are better on the reefs. Small live bait like large shrimp and whitebait work best but snapper will readily take fresh-cut bait and dead shrimp. There are plenty of snappers on the bay and offshore at the 40 feet plus reefs. The snapper are bigger offshore but light tackle with ½ to 1 ounce of lead will work best. That is, if nothing eats them on the way up:).

Maybe the fish are getting ready to go back to school :). That is the way I felt this week with only two half day charters and not being able to hook up with very much. I did not see many other boats out either so I was not able to get much feedback.

The first morning we concentrated on pompano and started in Big Pass bouncing yellow pompano jigs tipped with bits of fresh shrimp along the bottom. The water was dirty and slow moving due to all the run off from the past rains. A couple of small ladyfish and bottom fish were all we found. The condition of the pass called for a new environment if I was going to find fish, so we moved to Marina Jack's grass flats. About the same was going on at the grass flats, so I decided to make another change and head south along the beach to Point of Rocks. Point of Rocks is an out cropping of sand stone along Siesta Beach that can hold a large variety of fish including Jewish under some of the ledges. You can also find snook, trout and tarpon but today there was only one Spanish mackerel. By then I knew the incoming tide was making some headway against the fresh water coming out of the bay. We went to the Middle Ground grass flats that are just north of New Pass channel on the bay. Here we got or first and only pompano just before the end of the trip, a nice three pounder.

The next trip was with the same group. We decided to bypass the bay and do some offshore bottom fishing. It was too rough for a long offshore trip for my customers but with a 15 knot east wind the inshore artificial reefs were only a little choppy. I picked up six dozen live grunts from Hart's Landings and found plenty of action on (I) reef in 30 feet of water. Although the grouper were undersize, they bit continuously throughout the trip. We did get a nice cobia about twenty pounds and some flounder. We had some large fish on but they won! If you can get some grunts, pinfish or whitebait, offshore is your best bet for action. Whitebait is the best bait for snapper and mackerel. Trigger fish and large grunts are also abundant on the reefs if that is what you are looking for.

This week pompano and permit have been on the bite most of the time in Big Pass! As long as the current was flowing well on an incoming or outgoing tide and using 3/8 ounce yellow pompano jigs, we were able to find some pompano. When the current slows in Big Pass, I move to New Pass where the current is a little stronger due to its narrower cut. The grass flats are also holding a few pompano as well as trout. While fishing the passes and the flats, you will see some nice sting rays and spotted rays jumping out of the water, some up to four feet wide. The sting rays will take your pompano jig, so hold on.

The downside is that the passes are full of catfish due to the cloudy water and that is caused by all the rain that has fallen inland this past week. The trout fishing is still best north of the bay from Longbar north. Grunts (Pigfish) on a float are still the best bait and it will stay that way until the grunts get too big.

Top water plugs and jigs are working for both trout and redfish. I enjoy plug fishing for trout and snook with a "52-M" MirrOlure, a Rapala and many others but never a jointed plug. The whitebait is getting larger and is also working well. Snook and tarpon are biting better at first light or at night. You can still find some tarpon along the beach as well as in the bay, although not enough for me to book a charter for tarpon and it be our only target.

Offshore fishing has been steady with Amberjacks, barracuda, grouper and snapper being the mainstay of action. Summertime is also when the Gulf looks its friendliest and lures more small boaters out to the blue water fishing. Dolphin, Sailfish, Wahoo, Tuna and many others all call to us. Although we don't get many of these fish on this coast, the summer is the best time to fish for them out in the blue water about 25 to 50 miles offshore. Dolphins are the most dependable targets after the AJs that hang around most of the reefs, wrecks and the springs. Look for floating debris like a grass line, logs and most any object adrift that will hold dolphin and other fish.

A word of caution to new small boaters for long offshore trips: Leave a float plan at the dock. Make sure you have from 600 to 750 ft of anchor line so that your ratio will be at least 5 to 1. Take extra drinking water. Remember that your VHF radio or cell phone will not reach land so an EPIRB would be a nice addition. Using the two boat buddy system is also a good idea. On this coast VHF ch. 14 is used by most charter boats.

At the beginning of the week we had plenty of action in big Pass with pompano and permit making a good run along the south side of the pass. They were taking 3/8 oz yellow pompano jigs tipped or un-tipped with shrimp. The pompano averaged about two pounds and the permit about three pounds but by the end of the week only a few fish were being caught. A pompano run in August is unexpected so who knows what to expect next. While fishing for the pompano, we caught some nice flounder and occasionally we would hook one of the large stingrays that would give us a good workout on the light tackle.

I saw nice stringers of mangrove snappers coming in all around the bay, from under the docks, bridges, piers and beaches. The snapper were not very large but most were keeper size and fat.

Sea-trout are thick at the north end of the bay if you are using live grunts for bait. You can also find redfish and snook. Using top water plugs this time of year can be a lot of fun but don't expect to load the boat.

Offshore, some kings were still around "M-7" and during the week in choppy seas, the kings took gold Bombers trolled with a flat line. The bait fish have been hard to catch this last week because they have been running deep.

Snapper and grouper fishing has been fair to good and should keep on improving throughout the summer. You can start looking from forty feet out to whatever you can handle. All the hard bottom, ledges and artificial reefs are holding fish but don't look for an X marking the spot :). No one gives up numbers for these fish and it is time to make that chart recorder pay for itself. Marker buoys are also important. Pilchards (Whitebait) make excellent snapper bait and I like to use pinfish and grunts for grouper. This does not mean that you can't catch fish on cut bait.

Overall we had a good week but we had to work for our fish. There were a few dead spots probably due to the calm weather and high pressure. There was plenty of barracuda on the "M" reefs but the kingfish were harder to get. The kingfish were still concentrated about a half mile west of "M" 7 and were very cautious because of the very clear water. I had to go to an Albright to attach the #6 steel wire to the 40# mono instead of a swivel. I also changed to an Eagle Claw 318-N short shank 5/0 live bait hook. The kings averaged 20 pounds.

Large live bait was also hard to get! The big baits were on the bottom and very hard to see on the recorder but they were in the same place we got the kings. We had to bounce the gold hooks along the bottom until we hit a school of whitebait or sardines while putting up with a lot of blue runners and grunts in between. Later in the morning, we were able to find some large schools of thread herring on the surface about two miles west of "7".

Thursday we got a bonus when we received a call from another boat fishing not far from us. He had found a floating log with a school of dolphin under it. Finding dolphin 15 miles offshore is unusual for Sarasota so we jumped on it. There was a school of chicken dolphin and a school of 4-5 pounders under the log. Dolphin will eat most everything when schooling, so we threw everything we had at them. Small grunts, big greenbacks, sardines and pompano jigs and it all worked. We had all we wanted in a half hour and it was time to head in, so we left them biting.

Pompano had some really good runs on the bay around Big Pass and some of the grass flats. At times they bit well on un- tipped jigs. A few trout were also caught at the same time. The live shrimp are still very small but will work well for tipping a jig. The frozen shrimp that I have seen around is not worth your time. It is more like chum. Snook and redfish are being caught but this is the time of year to fish in the early morning or at night. It is also the time of year to lighten up your leader material, hooks and all terminal tackle due to the clear water and calm weather.

It was not hard to limit out on kingfish this last week! The artificial reef M-7 was a hot spot for kings, cuda, little tunny plus a few keeper grouper. The reef itself held mostly barracuda and it was hard to get a king in before the cuda got it. The best spot was just a quarter to a half mile west of the reef. We found large mixed schools of baits like Threadfin, cigar minnows, Spanish sardines and white bait there. The bait fish were large and would fill the gold hook rigs putting a hard strain on the light bait rods. The kings were hot in this area and the cudas were less of a threat. We fished with 15 to 20 pound test line, 40# mono leader, 6" #6 Wire and a 5/0 hook. We would drift or pull the baits at idle speed for the less skilled. Most of the kings averaged about twenty pounds.

It is unusual to have kings around this late in July, especially with the water temperature hitting 90 degrees, so take advantage of it while it lasts.

On the bay, most of the large trout were north of Big Sarasota bay although we did find some on Marina Jack's grass flats and Helicopter Bar. I saw pompano skipping the surface just about every place I went on the bay but I did not bother fishing for them because they were slow to bite. A few nice size redfish were taken around the docks, but just one here and one there.

A good place to find some snook is along Siesta Key beach south of Point of Rocks. White bait has been working well and you can find large white bait on the sand bars north of Siesta Key's north bridge. A lot of guides have been fishing the large schools of jacks for fun. The jacks have been popping up all around the bay at bridges, reefs, docks and flats. The jacks will take most anything you through at them and some schools consist of 4 and 5 pounders.

This last week was unpredictable! Although we had some great fishing, we also had some real dead spots that would last for most of the trip. Yes! We caught snook, redfish, and pompano this week and sometimes back to back, but mostly there was plenty of time to catch your breath between fish :). Trout fishing has been more productive, especially north of Sarasota Bay above Long Bar and also east of the ICW. Live grunts and white bait will work the best and can be caught with a cast net. Harts Landings bait shop has had a good supply of small grunts on hand but the white bait you will need to catch yourself.

This is the normal Summer pattern on the bay. The shrimp are too small to be of much good other than fishing for whiting or tipping your jigs. For trout, I use a popping cork, 30 pound leader and a 3/0 hook with a live grunt for bait. You need to adjust the cork so that your bait will swim just above the grass and not be able to hide in it. Although fishing for trout with cork and grunt is probably the most productive, it is not as easy as it sounds.

When fishing with cork and grunt, I use a rod at least 7' long and rated for about 12# test line. You need this for better casting of a long rig (cork to bait is sometimes 4' feet) and setting the hook harder. After I cast the bait out, I leave the line slack except when popping the cork and then I put the slack back in the line. When a fish takes your cork under, you need to give it a 10 to 15 count before you do anything and then reel as fast as you can to bring the slack line. Only when you feel the full weight of the fish do you set the hook. Set it hard and keep reeling to keep the line tight. Due to the grunts being a larger and firmer bait plus the resistance from the popping corks, it will require you to set the hook very hard. This is why it is difficult to accomplish this with a very light or short rod. Set the hook only once and keep a tight line but remember that trout have a soft mouth, so you need a smooth slow retrieve for the big ones. When I use live white bait or shrimp for trout, I like to free-line the bait and use a lighter rod.

Most of the action offshore has been from about the 50 foot depth out to the 80 foot depth. This has been far enough to put some nice grouper and snapper in the boat. The longer runs out to blue water would be worthwhile and are producing dolphin and an occasional wahoo. Remember that the small dolphin are excellent bait for wahoo and sailfish. The weather has been unstable for most of the past week but we have had a few good days to get out to the blue water.

Most of the larger bait fish have been out at the fifty foot depth around M-7. I found large schools of green backs just before M-7 and large white bait mixed with sardines just west of the reef. The reefs have a lot of cuda on them but a few kingfish are still being caught.

Permit, snapper and grouper were on the "M" reefs but the wind knocked me off the Gulf for the last few days and Thursday was a shutdown probably due to the approaching weather.

On the bay, the pilchards are just big enough to net and make great snapper bait on the Gulf reefs. The grouper will eat most everything but the small grunts and pinfish will last longer on the hook so as to give the grouper a little more time to get to your bait. I found the permit on "M-3." They were feeding on top and they were not spooky. I was lucky to have some large live shrimp and it was an easy cast to them. The permit we caught were between 10-12 pounds and were able to smoke our light spin tackle. Large live shrimp are almost impossible to find this time of year, but small crabs will work just as well.

Whiting seems to be plentiful along the beaches this year. They like shrimp or sand-fleas so that means you have a good chance of hooking a pompano while fishing for whiting.

Sea trout have been good on the bay and this is the time of year we get the biggest trout. The best bait is live pigfish or grunts fished on a float. It will stay like that throughout the summer until the grunts get too large. Live pilchards (White Bait) are the next choice and are easier to procure with a cast net. Both baits are good for snook and redfish. The largest number of big trout are coming from the north end of the bay from Longbar North but you can find trout throughout the bay.

This year the pompano run has been an unusual phenomenon! We have been able to catch pompano year round with a number of heavy runs throughout the year. In the past, pompano have only run for two weeks in the Spring and two weeks in the Fall and then left the area except for a few strays. Both the scientist from Mote and area fishing guides are puzzled by it, but I am sure the net ban has a lot to do with the pompanos' comeback! Although the pompano are not as thick as they have been, it is not unusual to add a couple to your day's catch. Pompano feed along the beach in the surf, in the passes and all the sandy bottoms around the grass flats. The best bait is sand-fleas! You can catch sand-fleas along the beach at the water's edge. Live shrimp and small crabs are almost as good and you can buy the shrimp at most bait shops. A Pompano jig tipped with a small peace of shrimp or a whole sand-flea works very well. POMPANO DO NOT EAT FISH! Along the surf, they feed better when waves are breaking on the beach and stirring up the crabs. In the passes, they like the water moving and how fast or slow is more important than whether it is going in or out of the bay. Although the movement of water on the flats is subtle, it is still very important as to when and where the fish will feed. Pompano will feed both day and night.

The "M" reefs are still holding plenty of fish! As long as you can catch the bait, you can catch fish but the choppy days can be a problem. Start looking for bait as soon as you get in the Pass, especially if the wind is up a little. The bait can get really spooky on the reefs. There are still a few nice kingfish coming in and lots of barracuda and amberjack. We are still getting a few big mangrove snapper and gag grouper that is if the big Jewish will let you have them :). Top water tube lures in light red or orange have been a hot color for the cuda.

To fish the reef with free-lined live sardines, greenbacks and pilchards on top, I use 15 to 20 pound test line and only run at idle speed when pulling the bait. The further back you drop the bait, the deeper it will run. I never use pinfish or grunts for this. Sometimes I do add a small lead, but this is rarely needed. The best method is to stop the boat over the reef. Then get a lively bait to run from the boat with an open bail or free spool. This is deadly if the bait is hot and you only get to do this one or two times before the bait is played out. I use four feet of 40# mono leader, six inches of #6 steel wire and a 5/0 hook. If the fish are not on the bite, I will take the steel off and hope for a lip hookup. This may get them feeding and then you can go back to the 6 inch steel leader. Pulling a heavy line makes your bait go to the surface due to the line resistance. You will see some larger charter boats using heavier line to cut back on customer screw ups :).

You may find better grouper action fishing in 70 to 80 feet of water as they are starting to move out to deeper water. The Swiss Cheese is a good place to start but don't forget the Hopper. You can find out how to fish for grouper on my web site under Tackle n' Tails.

Tarpon are still along the beach. Good luck! Large trout, pompano, redfish, small snapper and snook are some of the fish coming off the bay. Small pigfish fished with a float is still best for the big trout and most other fish except pompano. You need sand-fleas, shrimp or jigs for pompano.

For instructions on how to make or where to buy a gold hook rig for catching bait, you can go to Tackle & Tails on my web site. This is something you need to know in order to produce more fish offshore and anyone can do it.

Since my last report, I have found kingfish up to 24 lbs., cobia up to 70 lbs., some very nice gag grouper and some nice snapper. While fishing for bait in 24 feet of water off Lido beach, we had a large cobia come to the boat. So I hooked up a tarpon rod with a fresh live thread herring and held it over the side. After circling around and under the boat six times, the cobia took the bait. My party took turns and after about 25 minutes, landed a 70 pound cobia on twenty pound test line.

I found kingfish on the artificial reef, M-3 and they have been on and off for the last week and a half. The kings and barracuda were taking live sardines we had caught on the way out and on the (M) reefs. I rigged with 4 feet of 40 lb. mono leader, 6 inches of #6 steel leader and a 5/0 hook. Depending on the weather we would anchor, drift or pull the baits at idle speed on the flat calm days. We also had a lot of fun casting tube lures to the barracuda and if you have never done that you need to try it. Top water for large cuda is awesome!

We also picked up some grouper and snapper while drifting the live sardines. I saw one gag come in on M3 that was 18 lbs. All the reefs have big Jewish on them and we could see them best on M-5 as they followed up our 4 lb. amberjack or any fish that was big enough for them. We did hook a few big Jewish, but it was no contest and no one wanted to go to bigger rods with this hot weather :).

There has been plenty of bait fish from the beach out to the M reefs but you may find the bait a little nervous on the reefs. The gold hook bait rigs have been getting pinfish, grunts, pilchard, Threadfin, cigar minnows and Spanish sardines.

Tarpon have been easy to find along Longboat beach, but for what- ever reasons will not bite very often. It has not been a good year for tarpon hookups! I have and I have watched others throw all kinds of bait to them with very limited results.

North of the bay just off of the ICW before Cannons marina channel, some very large trout are being caught with live pigfish using a float. Redfish and snook are also around the docks throughout the bay. Some snook, Spanish mackerel and pompano have been in the passes.

Tarpon have been plentiful up and down the beach but hookups have been difficult to say the least. This has been a good year for getting plenty of good bait like crabs, sardines, pinfish and thread herring. We might get as many as ten casts to a school without one bump. Then a school will pop up and take the first one or two baits that hit the water. Unfortunately, the quick bites have been few and far between for the last two weeks. When starting out in the morning, several times this past week I have found tarpon milling around at the last two markers before we got to the New Pass Bell. I have found tarpon from New Pass north along the beach for five miles and fifteen miles to the south at Casey Key.

Tarpon fishing gets a lot of good press and is a great fish to catch but it is not for everyone. You need to be committed to the tarpon and just like bonefish, be willing to spend a lot of time on the hunt. To quote a local angler who lives for tarpon and is able to fish them almost every day, "A good day of tarpon fishing is five hours of boredom followed by one hour of chaos".

Offshore fishing around the "M" reefs has been very active with barracudas, amberjacks, grouper and Jewish. The amberjacks are almost getting to the legal size of 28" and a few nice grouper are coming in on large live bait fished on the bottom. It is best to catch your live bait on the way out because the ones on the reef may be to nervous to take via a gold hook bait rig. I have given up on live shrimp because of the large number of trigger fish living around the reefs now, but shrimp would be best for snapper.

Inshore, the trout and redfish are on the bite and doing well at the north end of the bay along with a few pompano. Live grunts or shrimp on a float are best for trout on the grass flats. Live shrimp, pinfish and grunts fished on the bottom around the docks are productive for redfish. The pompano are on the flats and will take a free lined live shrimp or jig.

Tarpon are going to be our number one target fish this month with snook, permit, grouper and snapper picking up the slack. Last week was slow for me as far getting out but the fish are in.

You will need to run along the beach in not more than a 20 foot depth and usually only 200/300 yards off the beach to look for tarpon. You will see the school of tarpon moving along the beach with their backs coming out of the water and most of the time moving fast. It is what we call "Grey-Hounding". The slower the tarpon are moving the better your chances are. Do not run up on them! Position your boat in the path you think the tarpon will take and wait for them to come to you. Of course this is assuming you don't have an electric motor or are able to pole your boat.

Small live crabs (3"-4")are usually but not always the bait of choice. Any large live baitfish will work. Casting lures and fly rods have always been very popular for tarpon but usually not as productive. I like to use at least 30 pound test line on large tarpon to cut down on fighting time and have a better live release. A spinning reel that will hold 250 to 300 yards of 30 pound test line is a good choice for casting the live bait. I use a Bimini twist to double my line. Then I add 6' of 60-80 lb. test mono leader with a Blood knot. The 60-80 lb. leader will depend on what size blood knot you can cast best through your rod guides. Now comes the part for the tarpon! I like to use at least 150 lb. test mono leader for large tarpon and no more than three feet of it. At one end I attach a large swivel and at the other end a 5/0-6/0 tuna hook. These hooks need to be sharpened but are the strongest that I know of. The new hooks on the market are sharper but if they don't penetrate all the way through, they may break at the barb. No matter how sharp a hook may be, there are places it can't go all the way through and then you have a lot more pressure on the bend and point of the hook.

This rig is also good for grouper fishing on the bottom and the grouper are on the bite. I have been finding grouper from 20 feet of water out to past 50 feet, but they have been on the move in and out so you never know where to start. Mangrove snapper have been better in the 50 foot plus areas. You can look for the snook to stack up under some of the docks and the red fish will be under snook. Permit are still on M-3 but they have been spooky. The "M" reefs have plenty of barracuda, amberjacks and Jewish on them.

Grouper, amberjack, permit and barracuda but still no sign of the tarpon! This is probably due to an anticyclone phase which has developed off of Naples from a cyclonic current eddy from the gulf stream. What that means is that the water offshore is up- welling from the bottom and will naturally be colder. This anti cyclonic up-welling usually means more bait offshore, but may keep the temps down some.

I found most of my fish in 30 to 50 feet of water from 3 to 12 miles offshore. We fished with live bait on the natural hard bottom for grouper. I would find the fish on the fish-finder, mark the spot with a buoy and then anchor over them because they seemed to stay bunched up in a small area. Use no more than one ounce of lead and slowly drop the bait to the bottom. Then just bring it back up a little to avoid snagging. I use at least a 100 lb. mono leader and a strong 3/0 to 6/0 hook depending on the size of the bait.

The (M) reefs were very active and I only needed to go to (M-3) and (M-7) to get plenty of action. I am sure that all the other reefs were active as well. (M-3) was loaded with 3 to 5 pound amberjacks caught mostly on live Spanish sardines or cigar minnows due to all the blue-runners taking the live shrimp. The blue-runners also made it hard to get a permit with shrimp, but we did get some. The permit were coming to the top and sticking their heads out of the water but they stayed just out of casting distance. They are little spooky right now. Some larger AJs were taken on (M-7) but most are under 28".

The M reefs now have what could be called schools of large Jewish and I would say some look to be well over 500 pounds. That can make it hard to seriously fish the bottom for snapper and grouper, their favorite food. You can just see them come up behind a hooked amberjack. One was so big that I thought I was seeing the bottom until it opened its huge yellow month to swallow my fish.

There is plenty of baitfish in the gulf! You can find lots of large pinfish in 30-35 feet of water. If you want Spanish sardines and cigar minnows, it would be best to wait until you get to 40 feet. You can cast into the schools of surface bait, but I have been doing better fishing the bottom under the surface bait with plain "bare" gold hook bait rigs. The feathered gold rig gets too many grunts on it.

With a week of excellent weather we were able to get offshore every day. We found grouper, permit, snapper and a few king & Spanish mackerel. Of course, it was not hot all of the time which was probably due to the full moon and high pressure, but all in all, it was a good week. As soon as the wind stopped, we found plenty of permit on the artificial reefs "M-3" and "M-7". The permit were taking live free lined shrimp and crabs. Some of the largest permit were more than twenty pounds. The kingfish seem to be dwindling but are still around. The "M" reefs are full of barracuda and Jewish that can give you a lot of fun and they will steal your fish from time to time.

If you are going to catch live sardines for bait, you need to look for them on the way out to the reefs because the bait on the reef has been very nervous and hard to catch with gold hook rigs. You can get some however, but it just takes longer.

Longer offshore trips have been finding dolphin 25 to 40 miles out along with an occasional wahoo.

Yesterday I found grouper up to ten pounds in thirty to thirty- five feet of water just a little more than three miles off Lido beach. The grouper where bunched up on natural bottom structure like small ledges, hard bottom and breaks. You need your bottom recorder to find them and then drop a marker. We had large live shrimp and they worked well, but I would have liked to have had live pinfish. We spent most of the morning trip along the beach looking for tarpon, cobia and snook. We worked our way out to the artificial (I) reefs and still could not find any action. We had large live shrimp and small blue claw crabs for bait so I decided to check out some of my natural bottom spots in the same area. As soon as I got to the first location I call Grunt, I could see larger blimps on the color fish finder. It takes my paper recorder to show the one and half foot ledge. We dropped down some live shrimp on 12 pound test line. Everyone seems to have a just short gag on and soon someone had a 22" keeper gag. We started to get slammed hard and lose some fish, but it was time to go. In the afternoon we got a late start, so we did not stop to catch some large pinfish. We did start with the 30 pound test line and managed a half dozen nice gags up to ten pounds and one large red grouper. We also caught some mangrove snapper by using live shrimp instead of large pinfish.

Kingfish have been on the bite all week in forty to sixty feet of water, from eight to fifteen miles offshore! Live bait and trolling artificial baits have both worked with live bait having the edge most but not all of the time. Some of the fish brought into New Pass Bait Shop were more than 40 pounds. Monday was a great day for trolling artificial baits. The kings were taking Bombers trolled on a flat-line with no extra rigging like planers or lead. You can use your light tackle "20 pound test" and have a lot more fun if you need to troll.

Monday, Capt. Paul Torin and his friends caught and released about 20 kings along with some big barracuda on mackerel colored Bomber "A long" lures. They found most of the fish flat-line trolling about a half mile or more off of M-7 and M-6. Over the weekend, the fish were concentrated over the reefs. They were taking live bait free-lined best but it was very hard to fish due to all the boats.

A few blackfin tuna were also taken during the week while fishing for kings. You can find some snapper and grouper on the bottom if a Jewish doesn't grab him on the way up. The permit did not show this week that I know of.

Unfortunately, I did not get more than a few miles offshore all week before one of my customers would turn into Kermit the frog. So we would need to go back and fish the calmer bay or it was just to rough to fish offshore to start with.

When I flat-line a Bomber, I use only a mono leader and no wire. The leader is 80-100 test and I tie the lure on leaving a loop for better lure action. With live bait, I use 40 pound mono leader and a six inches of #6 wire with a 5/0 hook for sardines.

I replace all my Bomber hooks with stronger hooks for kingfish as I do with many other lures when using 20 pound test line or better.

The bay fishing was not much but it was best along the west side from Country Club Shores north to marker "23". We worked all the grass flats for a few trout, bluefish and an occasional short cobia. Even the lady fish were slow.

Last week ended with a great weekend for live bait fishing offshore. Saturday morning on the way out to the artificial reef called M-3, I found the water almost flat with just a small swell, although I did not see any bait-fish on the surface. I did see one kingfish rocket out of the water about four miles out, which is half way to M-3. It was 8:00 a.m. when we got to the reef. Two boats were already there and they were drifting. There was still no bait-fish on the surface, so we free lined some large live shrimp in the hope of picking up a permit. I rigged the 12 pound test spinning tackle with a 3/0 Lazer hook and 40 pound leader. Kings will also take the shrimp on this rig but usually will cut you off without a short wire leader.

We drifted around the structure for 20 minutes and never got a hit. So I decided to anchor up while I could still get my choice spot on the structure. After adding about a 3/4 oz clip-on lead to the permit rigs, we fished the bottom and found some really nice mangrove snapper and a hogfish. We did get a lot of short grouper on the shrimp, but not one hit on the live pinfish we had down.

After about an hour at anchor, the bait-fish came up around the boat and I caught a few on the gold hook bait rig I had ready. I put a live sardine on a 20 pound test spin tackle I had rigged with six inches of #6 steel wire and a 5/0 lazer hook. We then free-lined the bait off the back of the boat and immediately had a light hit that took the bait. The second bait out immediately hooked up with a twenty pound king. Next, someone else hooked up with a permit under the boat using shrimp. Soon after that, an eight foot shark crashed into some permit just off our bow. Barracudas don't seem to bother permit, but they are number one shark food.

I quickly pulled up the anchor and we started to sight fish the permit with the live shrimp. The permit stayed up until about 12:30 and we had a blast. A twelve pound permit will knock your socks off on light tackle and pump up your arms as it runs you around the boat. So will the kingfish as one of my customers commented, "I have caught a lot of kings on a troll but never had as much fun as I did with that 20 pounder on light tackle."

Permit is the new fish on the block! Large schools of permit have invaded the (M) reefs in about forty feet of water and were on the bite at the first part of the week. Kingfish were also doing well on live bait in the same area, but it all dropped off with the high wind and rough water we have had for most of the week. The permit have averaged about 8-12 pounds and feed on live shrimp or small crabs on a 3/0 hook with mono leader. They will take artificial bait on spin or fly. When it is at its best, you can sight-fish the permit as they move in large schools along the surface of the water, but they don't seem to surface in rough water. I let the boat drift to within casting distance of the school. Then I flip a free-lined live shrimp to the school and get ready to move around the boat because these fish run wide. I recommend nothing less than 12 lb. test line because they take out too much line and run laterally breaking the line on any debris in the water.

The kingfish have been best on live sardines that we catch in the same area with gold hook bait rigs. I rig with 6 inches of #6 leader wire and a 5/0 hook with 40 lb. mono leader on 12-20 test line, but now with high wind and seas, you will need to troll with artificial baits. Spanish mackerel and cobia are also in, but there is nothing we can do until the wind backs off.

I have fished the bay for most of the week where the wind was still a problem but we stayed a lot drier. Sea trout were the prevalent fish and some were well over 20 inches. Pompano were next best, but very spotty and after that a few Spanish mackerel, small cobia and bluefish were taken off the grass flats. My best spot was Ringling grass flats in the morning before the wind got too strong. After that, we had to move to the west side of the bay where we could only pick a fish up here and there. The fish were on and off the bite, but mostly off during the past week. One drift we would get a fish almost every cast and the next drift we would get zip and it would stay that way for some time.

At this end of the bay, the boats working the docks have produced a few snook and redfish but nothing to brag about. A large live shrimp fished free-lined and allowed to sink has worked best for us on the grass flats. The artificial baits are still working well in the right hands.

Kingfish have been in all week but due to the high winds, so have we for the last part of the week. The kings were on all the (M) reefs but were not alone. Sharks of all sizes along with a few grouper were taking our live bait faster than the kings. The first chance I had to fish for kings was Tuesday afternoon on (M-3) and it was the last nice day of the week for comfortable offshore fishing. I had heard form a morning charter that the bait was hard to find, so they had to troll and found the kings scattered. I had some extra large live six to seven inch long shrimp for free-lining and few pinfish, if we wanted to fish the bottom. I did setup one gold hook bait rig on a light rod for Spanish sardines, cigar minnows and thread herring. About halfway out to (M-3), I found myself in about an acre of large sardines and minnows and quickly put a dozen and a half in the bait well feeling I would find more on the reef. I was not sure how good the action would be to justify spending a lot of time loading up on bait. I did not find any bait fish on the surface around the reef, but the action was hot. As soon as we drifted over the reef, we put a 12 pound king in the box. The king gave a good fight on the light spinning tackle, but I was very surprised not to see barracuda in hot pursuit that close to the reef. The next eight drifts found us hooked up to more fish than we could handle on 12-20 pound test line. Unlike kingfish, the large fish took our bait on top and dove down into the structure cutting us off, no contest. We did hook a few more kings and had a few got cut off on top, by that time we were out of bait and it was time to go home.

The next morning the forecast was for 20 knots SW, not a good day for offshore fishing. When we left the dock, the wind had not yet come up. So we went outside thinking about fishing cobia along the beach. I had just past the bell buoy off New Pass and found a large school of thread fin herring, so I stopped and used the gold hooks to put a few in the bait well. I knew I could ride the through of the waves and stay on plane out to (M-3), so we went for it. By the time we got to (M-3), it was 3-5 and the wind had not started yet. Another guide was anchored over the reef so we took a couple of long drifts. None of the boats had a good hit and the wind started to come up. We figured we would get back while we could still run on plane and stay dry. I fished the bay for the rest of the time until Friday when the wind got too high for comfortable bay fishing. We caught fish but it was slow on the bay for the rest of the week.

It was a very good week for inshore and offshore fishing, but we did have a few dead spots. For the most part it was great! In the middle of the week, the inshore reefs were full of keeper cobia and large Spanish mackerel along with some small black tip sharks. Free lining live shrimp was all you needed to do to fill the box. Lures, pinfish and grunts worked as well for the cobia.

I also jumped one tarpon while drifting a live pinfish over some structure in 18 feet of water off Longboat Key beach. This is not the tarpon run that starts in May, but just some singles you will find along the beaches and bay during March and April. By Friday the cobia and mackerel action had slowed down, but it is not over with. By Friday we found that snapper had started to replace the sheepshead on the inshore reefs. This is real good news if you are not a sheepshead lover. The sheepshead take over for a while every year and it is hard to get any thing else off the bottom with live shrimp.

Pompano and spotted sea trout have been very hot on the grass flats all over the bay, but will shut down from time to time. This week I found that using a tipped 1/4 oz yellow pompano jig gave us the best results for a mixed bag of large trout and pompano. My best spot on the bay this week was Ringling grass flats. That is when the wind would let us fish it. We drifted the flats while casting with the wind and popping the rod as we retrieved. This method also produced a few cobia up to 30 inches and Spanish mackerel. I need to say again that although it was a good week, we did have times when nothing would work for hours and then turned back on as quickly as it stopped. The on and off times did not hold to a pattern that could be predicted.

I do expect the kingfish to show up in our area this week, but the kings have very little respect for my opinion :).

The weather has improved and so has the fishing! Pompano are all over the bay and as of Friday had developed a few feeding patterns. Big Pass has been best in the late afternoon on the out going tide between the channel and Lido park, so we started our drift at marker "15" and "15 A". Along with the pompano, we caught a few Spanish mackerel up to three pounds. I am sure that the mackerel action will pickup very fast. We were not targeting the mackerel and caught them on pompano jigs. The Middle Ground grass flats were best on the last of the incoming tide. There were also a few mackerel and trout.

Offshore from the beach out to the sixty foot depths, all the artificial reefs are covered with sheepshead. They love shrimp, but by using live grunts and pinfish, you can get some nice grouper up to eight pounds or better. Fish the live fish on the bottom but just above the reef so that you don't get hung up. Some keeper cobia have been taken on live bait, so keep an eye open for them on top. Keeper grouper and cobia have been caught on the (I) reefs in 25 feet of water.

Kingfish have been seen and the bait fish are coming in, but I have not seen any meat in the box yet. You surely will want to take your gold hook bait rigs with you when going offshore from now on! And remember that drifting large live shrimp will also work. I only troll for kings in rough water.

Just a short note here on drift fishing for the novice. When you see a number of boats drifting and catching fish, you are not going to catch more fish nor make any friends by throwing out your anchor in the middle of their drift. The arm waving and hand gestures you see are not for good luck or the number of fish they caught :).

Regardless of the frog strangling down pours with lots of wind, the fishing has been great. Pompano fishing has been nonstop when we could get out and making your limit was not hard to do. The pompano have been all over the bay with the heaviest concentration in Big Pass. We drifted along the south east bank of the pass and jigged with yellow 1/4 oz jigs tipped with bits of shrimp.

The best bait of all for pompano is live sand fleas. Sand fleas are crabs that can be found along the edge of the surf. Sand fleas are about an inch long and resemble half of a miniature egg with legs. They are caught with an oblong basket made of hardware cloth and used like a rake. When the surf goes out, the sand will go through the hardware cloth and leave the sand fleas behind. The fishing rig is a double drop leader with the lead about six inches below the bottom leader. Two 1/0 or 2/0 short shank, strong live bait hooks are used on the two drop leaders. We saw someone in the pass getting two pompano at a time with this rig. This rig was meant for surf fishing or somewhere you won't get hung up. Sand fleas work well on a jig.

We spotted a few more cobia on the bay and along the beach but no schools yet. The trout are large but not plentiful. sheepshead are everywhere and are the biggest just offshore on the artificial reefs. Snook and redfish are being caught, but not in large numbers, one here, one there.

Offshore you still need to run out about eight miles before you start getting some nice snapper and grouper. Make sure you take some live bait if you can. I have been spending most of my time inside on the bay because of the weather.

Good Fishing! Bad weather! That is about how you could have summed up last week but it looks a lot better this weekend. Some very nice sea trout are coming in using large live shrimp and the old standard, 52-M MirrOlure lure with red head and white body. Some of the trout have been 4-5 pounds which are common this time of year. Pompano are still running in Big Pass and on the grass flats when the wind will let you fish in the open water. Tipped pompano jigs in the 1/4 oz size have worked lately and I have been using yellow and hot pink. Remember to tip your jigs with a very small piece of shrimp and if you have a jig with a long tail, cut the tail back to the bend of the hook. We do this to make the jig drop to the bottom faster.

Along the docks, you can find a lot of sheepshead and some redfish, black drum and an occasional snook. Work the docks with live shrimp to cover all bases. Use at least 30-40 pound leader and a 3/0 hook. Try both methods, free-line and small split shot.

Offshore fishing has been very limited due to the wind, but the fish are out there. The hard bottom "Swiss Cheese" in 80 feet has produced some larger grouper from 10-15 pounds. Snapper, grouper, sheepshead are still being caught on the (M) reefs in 40- 60 feet of water. The closer reefs including (I) reefs are covered with sheepshead, but you can still get other types of fish. I hope to find cobia this coming week but I don't write the script.

There was no rush to get my report out for this weekend! The wind is blowing about 25 mph and we expect rain for Sunday.

Pompano was the main fish on the bay for most of the week and they were hard to get. Sheepshead and whiting were also being caught and were really biting better than the pompano. I fished Big Pass and the grass flats using tipped jigs and whole live shrimp free lined or with a 1/4 oz split shot in the pass. In the pass, the pompano were in small tight schools and hard to stay on. On the grass flats, I could see a lot of pompano skipping around the boat and flashing at high speed deep in the water but we could hardly get them to hit. Although some of the pompano were up to three pounds, most of what I saw was much smaller than we have had in the past few weeks and that could be the reason for fewer hookups. Live shrimp or jigs worked about the same but the live shrimp produced larger but less pompano.

The whiting fishermen were all congregated at the south east corner of Bird Key and came back to the same spot every day. About 10 to 15 small boats could always be seen fishing that spot. Sheepshead could be found around most any place that was growing barnacles and they would take any crustaceans, mollusks or tube worms you had for bait.

Offshore, we found a lot of large sheepshead up to 5 or 6 pounds on the Allen Fisher (I) reef. Soon after we got to the reef, a boat came by and hollered that there were a couple of sharks off our bow. I felt that it could be cobia and it was. We soon had a big fish on, but it ran under the boat and broke the 12 lb. test on the bottom of the boat. We did not get any more cobia hookups, but I was glad to see them starting to come back.

Further offshore in 40 to 60 feet around the (M) reefs and hard bottom, there are still plenty of snapper and some nice grouper coming in. Live bait is always best and the pinfish have moved out to deep water, 40 feet plus. As you go further offshore, you can find amberjack around the deeper reefs.

Even though we have been fighting the weather, the fishing has been great! Mangrove and Lane snapper with a few keeper grouper were taken on the (M) reefs. M-6 was really hot during the week and so was the hard bottom about eight miles out of New Pass at a 240 mc. Live shrimp is still the best bait for the snapper.

Amberjacks have been on the reefs. The old barge in 80 feet of water has always been good for some big AJs. Any live bait will work on a free line or with a small lead. Slow trolling with live bait will work also.

sheepshead are plentiful on the (I) reefs and some of the (M) reefs. The (I) reefs in 25 to 30 feet of water are also starting to get a few nice size snapper.

On the bay, pompano has been the hot fish and Big Pass was the place to be! An incoming or an outgoing tide was working as long as the water was moving. We drifted the pass with yellow pompano jigs tipped with small bits if shrimp. The fish were packed in tight schools so we had to hunt them. When we found them, we repeated the same drift over and over until they moved. You never want to anchor your boat when fishing pompano in the pass. Live shrimp rigged with a 3/0 hook and a 1/4 oz split shot attached just above the eye of the hook will work really well most of the time.

Once in a while I needed to fish Zwick's channel to get out of the wind. We found a few nice keeper trout, flounder, whiting and pompano, but it was slow. Whiting are better this year than they have been for some time. I don't target whiting because of their size, but they are very good to eat and sought by many. A number one hook baited with small shrimp and fished on the bottom is what they like. A double drop loop leader with two hooks and a sinker at the bottom is a traditional surf rig for whiting.

El Nino is still producing unusual weather that is keeping us off the water or limiting where we can fish. We did have a few nice days although and were able to find fish.

Pompano and sea trout are still coming off the bay but are a little slower due to the silt and fresh water runoff from all the rain and high winds. Try to find some cleaner water and free- line live shrimp along the edges of channels, docks or grass flats. The saltwater catfish have been a problem because they love the dirty water, so be careful when handling them because their barbs are a lot more painful then their fresh water cousins.

Offshore fishing is still producing Mangrove (Grey) snapper and some large Lane snapper along with an occasional keeper grouper. Lane snapper are a very colorful fish, but the smallest of the snapper family and very good testing. A Lane snapper over 12" is considered large and is what I keep even though 8" is legal.

Some of the mangrove snapper have been running more than four pounds, so I have been culling out the smaller ones because the limit is five.

All of the (M) reefs along with some good bottom between 40 and 60 foot depths have been good for bottom fishing with live bait, shrimp, pinfish etc. The (I) reefs in 25 to 30 feet of water are very silty but are producing a few sheepshead and small snapper.

The good fishing has prevailed! As long as the weather will let us get out, we should continue to have plenty of action. We are still catching grouper, mangrove snapper and sheepshead offshore on all of the artificial reefs. The (I) reefs have plenty of sheepshead with a few keeper snapper and grouper. All of the (M) reefs have been producing snapper, sheepshead and grouper with some of the bigger grouper on (M) 6, 7, and 8. The best results have been fishing on the bottom with live shrimp, pinfish and grunts, but dead bait will work.

Inshore fishing has produced snook using large live shrimp along the docks from Siesta Key to Longboat Key. Sea trout and pompano have been in Zwicks Channel and on the grass flats taking live shrimp and artificial baits. You can find Sheepshead around rock piles, bridge and dock pilings or any structure that will hold barnacles. Sheepshead prefer shrimp, crab, tube worms or any shell fish.

We had high wind, rain and cold that kept me off the water for most of the week but I did get out once. The wind had dropped down to about 20 mph Thursday afternoon and I had two guys from the northern tip of Michigan who really wanted to go fishing. We went into Zwicks Channel and anchored along the edge of the grass flat at the north end. I had told them not to expect to much on a day like this because of the rough and dirty water plus it was still windy enough to limit our options. They were good sports and at home with the light spinning tackle. Although they had never fished in saltwater, they did have a lot of experience fishing for trout along Michigan and Canadian streams. They asked me what they could expect to catch that day and I said trout. We all laughed.

I pointed to an area about ten feet wide and a long cast away from the boat, and I told them that it was a feeding point. They started to catch trout right away and continued to do so for most of the trip. The fishing was not fast, but they did go through a hundred live shrimp and the fish were all released. As I watched, their casting would wander and I would guide them back to the feeding point. They would get one or two fish, so they began to realize how important it was to cast to the small area I had pointed out.

The knowledge of feeding points is a very important factor wherever you fish. The feeding point can be a very small area of a foot or so. Zwicks channel is a good example of this. It is only about 3/4 of a mile long and I have about six feeding points I like to fish. Sometimes the fish are spread out and it is easy for everyone, but most of the time you will need to fish these points. This knowledge can be hard to acquire because your references may be under the water, for example, sandbars, grass, and shadows. When you see someone taking fish, remember where they were casting to and not where the boat was. You may need to anchor differently the next time due to wind and current. Remember that a few feet or one piling to the next can make the difference. The same goes for offshore fishing! After finding a reef, I always have a particular rock I want to fish. That is why you will always find a paper bottom recorder on my boat.

The bad news is that the bay fishing has been slow, probably due the colder weather. The good news is that it is History.:) I could name all the species we have in the area as caught, but the numbers have been way down. When we were able to find some fish on the bay, it was over as quick as it started.

When we could get out, the offshore fishing was another story! Mangrove snapper, grouper and sheepshead have been plentiful on the (M) reefs in forty to sixty feet of water. Live shrimp, pinfish and grunts fished on the bottom have worked very well.

Don't expect a lot of keeper grouper, but some have gone up to 12 pounds. You should find a lot of keeper snapper, so you may want to cull out the smaller ones since you are only allowed to keep five mangrove snapper. It has been common to get 4 and 5 pound snappers.

You may want to keep an eye open for cobia on the surface. Have a rod ready and rigged without a sinker so that you can flip them a live bait. Little tunny have also been around and may take a live shrimp as you are dropping it down.

Bay fishing has been start and stop with a lot of moving around. Pompano and spotted sea trout have been the top fish along with a few small snook and redfish also being taken. Robert's Bay, Zwick's Channel, Big Pass and the Middle ground grass flats to name a few spots that were good during the past week. Sometimes it was just a few fish in a spot and then other times one place would really turn on for a few hours. The docks on the south side of the Siesta Key north bridge have been good for small snook, redfish and sheepshead. Large jacks up to ten pounds have been found along the ICW south of Sarasota bay.

The (M) reefs offshore have been excellent! Reefs 1 through 5 have had plenty of mangrove snapper, sheepshead and a few grouper. Reefs 6, 7 and 8 have had larger grouper. Large live shrimp has been a good bait for all species, but pinfish, grunts and pigfish are good if you want to target the grouper only. You may need to move around to find the larger snapper. Mark the structure then anchor on the sand and fall back to your marker. With live shrimp, I use a 3/0 hook, thirty pound leader and a ½ oz sinker. Fish straight down under the boat and as soon as the bait reaches the bottom, you should get hit.

When fishing with live pinfish and grunts, you will need to beef up your tackle. I would fish with nothing less than twenty pound test line, sixty pound leader and a 5/0 hook. Sometimes I need to go as heavy as 150 lb. leader with 50 lb. test line to pull the grouper out of the structure. With pinfish and grunts you need to give the grouper a few seconds to suck the bait in before striking the fish.

Good fishing! Bad weather! That has been the story this past week. When we could get out, the fishing has been extra good but those days have been few. The bay seems to be better on the incoming tide for spotted sea trout, redfish and pompano. The trout have moved into the deeper channels and we had some good action at the north end of Zwick's channel. Look for the trout along the edge of the grass flats and sheepshead, redfish and black drum on the other side along the docks. Live shrimp or jigs will work but live shrimp is best. For the drum, you may want to add a small split shot but for the trout depending on the wind, you may want to free-line your bait.

Look for the redfish and possibly snook around all the docks. Small snook have been plentiful at night for fly fisherman south of Sarasota bay. Snook also love live bait and shrimp will work all the time.

Pompano are still on the middle ground grass flats and tipped jigs are still the best bait. Remember, you may need to catch the incoming tide.

We had the best action offshore. Starting at the (M) reefs, we found plenty of mangrove snapper and some keeper grouper. Most of the snapper were just over keeper size, but some were over four pounds. You will not have any trouble limiting out on mangrove snapper so you may want to cull the smaller fish and hold out for the larger snapper. Along with the snapper, we caught some grouper and sheepshead on live shrimp. Pat Ricciardi of Longboat Key caught a 24" true black grouper which is rare around here.

Gag grouper are on the bite and live pinfish, pigfish or grunts are all good baits for grouper. The further out you go, the bigger the grouper. Fish the artificial reefs or find some good hard bottom with breaks and remember you may not see the grouper on your fish finder because they are under the structure.

To me, gags are as good to eat as true black groupers and bring the same at the market. Gags and blacks look very similar and are not easy for most people to tell apart.

Grouper! The gag grouper are on the bite but, the weather has been a problem. The good news is that you do not need to run very far and you could find them on any structure. I have even found them held up on a derelict crab trap. At this time, you have a good chance of finding a few nice gags on the (I) reefs in about 25 to 30 feet of water. The (M) reefs in about 40 to 60 feet of water have been better when we could get out. Grouper will take cut bait, but nothing is better then live bait. You can catch all the pinfish and grunts you need on the grass flats, the (I) reefs and the Bell buoy. I like to take large live shrimp along for the snapper and other reef fish that are good to eat. When fishing the natural bottom, use your fish finder to locate some breaks and ledges, then pinpoint their location with a marker buoy. Remember that grouper like to hide under or in the structure, so you may not see large fish on your recorder.

Little tunny have been on the beach as well as offshore, but I have not fished for them lately as a targeted fish. Tunny can be a lot of fun on light tackle. I have been asked via e-mail "what is the best bait for tunny"? That is a good question! Tunny or boneheads as we call them can be a very finicky feeder. It can take every thing from large Bombers to small jigs and all live bait including live shrimp. They will even take some dead glass-minnows stacked on a hook. They can take all, one, or none of the above. None happens when they are feeding on very small anchovies. They will swim through the anchovies in a tight formation keeping their mouths open wide like a scoop collecting the tiny fish. At that time, you can throw everything you have at them and they never see it.

The passes have been producing some pompano and bluefish and the grass flats have been holding more trout. The bay conditions have been improving and I am sure it will be back to normal this weekend.

The bay and coastal fishing was real slow for most of the week, but by Friday the gulf had calmed down. Friday and Saturday we had an East wind and were able to get well offshore. We started to find fish about six miles offshore in 38 feet of water on natural hard bottom fishing the small ledges with live bait. Red grouper, gag grouper, mangrove snapper, flounder, sheepshead and even a pompano were a few of the species caught.

It was a mixed bag with grouper being the most prevalent fish. Most of the grouper were short, but a few nice keeper gags were boated. Live shrimp, pinfish and pigfish seemed to be the best bait. Although the inshore reefs were dead, there was plenty of pinfish on them that you could catch for offshore bait. Pinfish and pigfish were best for keeper size grouper, but the large live shrimp produced a larger variety of fish.

From six miles out, most of the bottom fishing was good if you got over some artificial or natural structure. You need to pinpoint and mark the ledges before anchoring. The grouper stay under the ledges and do not venture far from their hiding place waiting for a victim to swim by. If you are fishing primarily for keeper size grouper, it is best to use a twenty pound test line or stronger so that you can pull them out from under the structure. Sixty pound leader or better with a 5/0 hook will work when using pinfish for bait.

I like to use twelve pound test line when fishing for other species because it will produce more fish and is a lot of fun. I use one or two 1/4 oz. split shots, forty pound leader and a 3/0 hook when using live shrimp for bait. Remember that when fishing heavy structure, you can not let your fish run. You must pull the fish out of the structure before you can relax. For less experienced fishermen, I lock the drag down but quickly back it off if they hook a top water runner like a cobia.

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