Captains Corner, Jay Mastry

The Tampa Bay Times

I’m not putting my kingfish gear away just yet.  We’ve caught kings on Christmas and even a little later in the past.  I’m hopeful these current fronts pass quickly and don’t dump water temperatures too low.  The longer water temp is in the mid-sixties and lower the shorter our season will be.  Kings will move on to the south chasing temperature more to their liking.  There’s a couple cold water tolerant species around here that thrive in it.  Now is when massive schools of silver trout traditionally swarm over the hard bottom just off Redington and Madeira beaches.  On an east wind I like to get right up on the swim buoys and drift out until I locate them.  When you get in em’ good, you can catch two at a time on tandem rigged jigs.  Store bought ones work great, I like making my own.  A quarter ounce jig head on the bottom and an eighth up above allows for long casts.  A variety of color rubber tails will do the job, I like to experiment to determine what color they prefer on a given day.  If the water is a little muddy, try tipping your jig head with a piece of shrimp.  The scent will help them find their way.  Sheepshead don’t care how cold it is or how hard it’s blowin’.  Now is when they can be found just about anywhere there’s barnacles or oysters.  Bridge pilings, rock jetties, artificial reefs, seawalls and residential docks are all grazing spots as they fatten up for their spawn.  I’ve always liked the rocky edges of the Ships Channel, the same areas we “mango” fish when hunting sheepies.

Captain Jay Mastry