Captain’s Corner: Dave Zalewski

The Tampa Bay Times

Dave Zalewski 460-9893

Traditionally we like to say that Columbus Day, October 12, is the start of the fall trolling season when Spanish mackerel, kingfish, cobia, and barracuda become primary targets. There are several theories as to what triggers the migration of pelagic fish from the upper Gulf to the warmer waters of the Keys and Cuba. Water temperatures are dropping because of shorter days, with less sunlight to keep the waters warm, and the baitfish and migratory species have their comfort zone of 72 to 78 degrees. The gulf temp is now hovering around 82 and it will not be long until the magic temperature is reached. Another theory is that the length of day is what starts the migration south. We believe that both hold true and go hand in hand in starting the fish moving.
We may break tradition this year. Scattered reports of kingfish being caught are being made from Tarpon Springs down to the Egmont shipping channel. The Old Salts Ladies Tournament held last Saturday had several kingfish weighed in in the 20 pound range and one over 30 pounds.
It is worthwhile to spend some time on any of the artificial reefs or markers in the shipping channel on your way offshore to target bottom fish, although historically kingfish show up first on the mid-water reefs such as South County, Indian Shores, Rube Allyn and Veterans. Trolling with hardware is usually more effective early in the season because it allows you to cover the entire area of these reefs which are a ¼ mile square around the center with high profile structure scattered throughout the entire area. Large spoons and deep diving plugs should produce fish if they are there.