Captain’s Corner: Dave Zalewski

The Tampa Bay Times

Dave Zalewski 460-9893

Strong gusty winds and high seas have kept us from running offshore for the past week. The Old Salts King of the beach Tournament was held last Saturday and most entrants fished very close to the shoreline which was necessitated by the easterly wind direction. A large number of both kingfish and Spanish mackerel were weighed in, showing that it is not always necessary to run far offshore to experience some of our great fishing. In addition to the members of the mackerel family which they were seeking, many anglers reported being bothered by sharks of all sizes and species attacking their baits and hooked fish. This is not good news for a tournament angler, but for the catch and release recreational fisherman, this indicates an excellent opportunity to partake in some light tackle, drag screaming action.

Targeting sharks is not rocket science, but does require some preparation. They can be caught almost anyplace along the shoreline, but the best areas are near any of the passes that flush a supply of bait fish into the gulf feeding not only the sharks, but also their prey. Bait can be live or dead. The best baits are those caught on site that may include Spanish mackerel, ladyfish, blue runners and bonita. Chumming is a necessity and the use of 2 frozen chum bags is suggested along with a constant stream of small pieces of whatever bait one is using. One of the bags is to be tied off of a cleat on the surface and one lowered almost to the bottom in a chum cage to prevent the sharks from making off with the chum bag.
Three lines should be deployed, one with a large chunk of bait on the bottom. One with a piece of bait suspended ½ way to the bottom by use of a balloon. And one live bait also suspended by a balloon near the surface