Captain's Report - September/October, 2004

by Capt. Dave Mistretta

Water temps are dropping quicker than the usual, for this time of year. A combination of rain, clouds, wind and shorter days are the reason. As each hurricane pushed through our area, its strong circular motion brought cooler water from deep in the Gulf. Once things calm down, you can expect an early arrival of fall- migratory fish.

Expect the king mackerel to be present by mid October. The bigger fish (smokers) will be fewer in numbers, but the first to arrive. The closer to the shore, the better, to find these early arrivers. A good action spotter for big king enthusiasts are fishing piers. Avid fisherman, consistently soak big baits for the entirety of the day, makes a great detector of their presence. Every fall, places like Redington and the Skyway fishing piers will be the first to drag forty -plus pounders over the railings. After this occurrence, the games begin, with reports of smokers trickling into all inshore locations. Of course bait fish will play a major role in this migration of mackerel. The piers are always holding some sort of food source, making them top on the list for places to feed. Next, a lot of the inshore natural reefs about a mile from shore will a get a push of smokers. Threadfin herring, mixed in with blue runners will be schooled up and readily available over these reefs. As the month progresses, schools of mullet will begin to herd up close to the passes in great numbers, preparing for their annual fall-roe run. These massive congregations will be sure to have giant kingfish nearby, attacking with a fury. By the end of October, we will be in full swing with the kingfish migration. November gets even better!

Offshore action remains strong and will stay that way for the remainder of the month. Grouper fishing has been better than the past three years in our area. We have been relentlessly targeting red grouper in depth of eighty plus feet of water. The limit of two per person can be met with ease once you've found a trough that is holding fish. The reds are still congregating on the edges of the limestone rock and the sand dunes.

Gag grouper fishing is also working quite well. We have been running a good ways offshore with great success. Grouper up to twenty pounds have been available at depths of 100 plus feet. Live baits such as pinfish, grunts and grass porgies have been the best baits. As water temps decline even further, more fish will follow, bringing in keeper-sized gags to many of the inshore rocks This will allow for some great grouper digging throughout the winter. There really isn't much need to waste all that expensive fuel if your only wanting a grouper dinner. Working the shallower depths out to fifty feet of water will work fine. Expect the grouper trolling action to pick up. Giant lipped plugs, trolled close to the bottom will get the attention of many big gags. The cooler water temps not only draw in bigger numbers of fish, but they become more aggressive. Big gags will not hesitate to venture from their rocky home to investigate a food source. Plugs with shiny coloring are the best. I prefer a shiny chrome or metallic gold colored lure for the bigger grouper. Some fisherman prefers a bright orange and black lure. The key for successful grouper trolling is water clarity. Muddy water lessens the chance of hookup, since many of the grouper will travel fifty feet out of their way to grab a plug. They simply can't find the plug if they don't see it. A moderate speed of about 4 knots is ideal during the early morning and evening (sunset) hours. When the sun gets higher, pick up trolling speeds to about 6 or 7 knots.

If you planning on an offshore trip, don't pass up those commercial shrimp boats. They are working thirty miles from shore. There might not be many blackfin tuna around, but plenty of action can be had. We pulled up to shrimp boat a few days ago and hooked two sailfish at once. They weren't the biggest sails, about 40 pounds apiece, but we were provided plenty of action. Our lines got crossed loosing one of the sails, the other was brought boat-side for some great photos. There was plenty of bonito and shark action as well. Even a few dolphin (mahi mahi) joined in on the party around a different boat. Free-limed pilchards are the batfish that got their attention.

Past Captain's Reports

• July/August, 2004
• May 7, 2004
• April 2, 2004
• March 6, 2004
• February 5, 2004
• December 5, 2003
• November 7, 2003
• October 2, 2003
• September 4, 2003
• August 17, 2003
• July 4, 2003
• May 5, 2003
• April 21, 2003
• April 10, 2003