The Tampa Bay Times
It’s late September….. and time to start twisting wire. The highly anticipated fall run of kingfish will be here soon and you’ll not want to be unprepared. Though the big numbers won’t show up until the water temperature cools a bit, there has already been some scattered reports of a few “smokers” being caught. In spite of howling winds over the weekend, the easterly flow spared the near shore waters along our gulf beaches from muddying up and remained fishable. East wind along our region acts like a vacuum. Schools of bait get drawn from offshore, practically to the beach in some cases and the opportunistic kingfish and mackerel follow them in to take advantage. With our local waters seemingly recovered from the months ago outbreak of red tide, look to the traditional hotspots to again be productive. September kingfishing around here requires patience. You’re likely not going to get a bunch of bites but those you do could surely be worth the time spent. When fishing the “beach” during easterly wind patterns, I’ve long liked the 20 ft. depths of the Blind’s Pass “drop” and the hard bottom off Sand Key in Clearwater . The dredged “ditch” that runs parallel to the beach right off Anna Maria often stays cleaner than most. Bait schools tend to bunch up along that stretch and the kings at times will settle in with them.
- Jay Mastry - March 26, 2024
- Captains Corner, Gorta - March 23, 2024
- Dave Zalewski - March 12, 2024
