Captains Corner, Dave Zalewski

The Tampa Bay Times

Dave Zalewski 460-9893

The water temperature in the Gulf of Mexico in our area has reached the magic 72 degree temperature which is the comfort zone for not only baitfish such as Spanish sardines and threadfins, but also for their predators like kingfish, Spanish mackerel, cobia, and bonita. Now is the time for both live bait and hardware trollers to target these species along with sharks which are there in the same areas to prey on pelagic species.
Easterly winds will bring the baitfish close to shore seeking shelter in the lee of the land. Trolling should began there whenever possible. It is easy to run past the fish especially on a calm day after a cold front. The recent King of the Beach tournament showed this to be so true. Many fish that made the leader board were caught within one mile from shore. If winds have been predominately out of the west baitfish will tend to move offshore seeking shelter and cleaner water. The near shore artificial reefs usually provide both.
Catch and release shark fishing provides excitement for both young and old anglers and can be done in those close in waters. Many of the sharks will be in the 10 to 30 pound range and provide great action on 20 to 40 pound class tackle. They very rarely strike trolling, so the best way to target them is to anchor near any pass after catching mackerel and blue runners by trolling, deploying a chum bag and chumming with small chunks of fish. We usually deploy 3 rods. One with a sinker to keep the bait on the bottom, one with a balloon to keep it suspended half way to the bottom and one freelined with either a chunk of bait or live blue runner