Captain’s Corner: Dave Zalewski

Dave Zalewski

The Tampa Bay Times

The fall fishing season is here in almost full force. Trolling for pelagics such as Spanish mackerel, kingfish, barracuda and bonita has been great and will only get better with a few degree drop in water temperature, Bottom fishing for the benthics; gag, red and scamp grouper, white grunts, Lane and mangrove snapper has dramatically improved. Baitfish of all types and sizes are beginning their migration south along with their predators. The rule now is find the bait, find the fish. Easterly winds will provide calm waters close to shore which is what baitfish and anglers will seek. For those trolling hardware it is never too early to deploy at least one line on the way out of a pass often before the bridge and if fish are present a second. Historically, when the piers extended into the gulf from the shoreline, large kingfish, Spanish mackerel and cobia were caught from them at this time of year. It is easy to subscribe to the theory that the further one travels offshore, the larger the fish. This is not always true. Time spent running is time spent without a line in the water.
Gag grouper in the 40 foot depths are beginning their fall feeding in anticipation of the shortage of baitfish which will occur once the water temperature falls below 70 degrees. Frozen Spanish sardines and squid work, but it is hard to beat a live pinfish, hooked above the anal fin, once the bite has been established. The 80 foot depths seem to be the key depth for the red grouper, Lane and vermillion snapper and white grunts. All these species will readily attack frozen bait, and it also holds true that a larger fish may be enticed to strike a live bait.