Captain’s Corner: Dave Zalewski

The Tampa Bay Times

Dave Zalewski 460-9893

I am often asked when is the best time to fish in our area? My first answer is anytime you can get a line in the water because we are fortunate to have both an inshore and offshore year around fishery. Two periods come to mind when pinned down as to “best”. May-June and October -November give us the opportunity to target many different species. Right now trollers can expect Spanish mackerel, an occasional kingfish, bonita, barracuda, and for those venturing far offshore some mahi and blackfin tuna. Bottom fisherman can try for both red and gag grouper as both species are open right now, Lane, vermillion, and mangrove snapper, white grunts and porgies. Triggerfish and amberjack are now closed, but provide catch, photo and release action. Red snapper recreational season opens on June 17 and until then is also catch and release.
Both the near shore and mid water artificial reefs are great places to spend some time on the way offshore to the bottom fishing areas trolling. We always start out with #1 or 2 planers and small to medium sized gold or silver spoons to match the size of bait that is there that day. Before leaving the reef we take the time to use a sabiki to catch some live sardines and threadfins to add to the pinfish that we have in the bait well.
Most of our bottom fishing has been in the 60 to 90 foot range and has been dictated as to whether the locally called “gumbo” is in the area. This is a yearly occurring bloom of a slimy algae that does not seem to harm the fish, but will cause them not to bite if the slime is present on the bait. If we encounter it, the only solution is to move to another spot as it blooms in patches.