Captain's Report - May/June, 2006

by Capt. Dave Mistretta

Now that all the tournaments are over, kingfish seem to be everywhere. All depths are producing decent numbers with many of the fish, large. Charter boats at our docks have been laying twenty-plus pounders on the dock for the past week. A couple of hefty, thirty plus pound fish have also been mixed. Bait is abundant at all depths, (threadfin and blue runners at the shallower bottom and sardines at the depths further than 40 foot) making it an east task of filling the live wells. Expect the kings to stay around for this entire month, since their migration was so tardy this past spring.

Reports of tarpon, rolling along our beaches has already started to trickle in. Anglers fishing 300 yards off Indian Rocks Beach witnessed a few pods working their way south, directly outside the swim buoys. Even Redington pier anglers got a taste of the upcoming migration of silverkings. Fish have been nabbing baits suspended off their outriggers at the furthest most part of the pier. Pinfish and threadfin herring are the bait of choice. You can watch the giant pods of tarpon as they slowly move to the outlines. The big schools are daisy chaining in a circle, barely moving to the south. Already the action has started about 100 miles south, telling us it's going to be a busy season. No red tide has been detected anywhere close to us.

Cobias have also been present and quite aggressive. Each species will show up in even greater numbers by Memorial Day. This particular holiday is the kick off date for many inshore game fish. Snook will also get aggressive after this date in preparation of their spawn. Great numbers are starting to bundle up in the passes, feeding for the most part, during the evening hours.

Offshore action has been phenomenal. The Blackfin tuna are finally coming our way from the south, spinner sharks have been the hot topics. Shrimp boats have been abundant southwest of Johns Pass, making things easy since bait is so abundant at the south county reef ( the buoys located just north of the Betty Rose, about ten miles out of the pass). We have been limiting clients to only two tuna a day, since their fillets don't freeze well. . A fast char on the grill, medium rare is perfect for these tasty pelagic fish. Red grouper have bee eating at depths of 115 feet this week. The spinners have been everywhere, especially around the shrimp boats.

Captain's Report - May/June, 2006

by Capt. Dave Mistretta

Past Captain's Reports