Captain’s Corner: Jay Mastry

The Tampa Bay Times

It’s late September…. and around here it means prepping for our fall run of kingfish.  Now’s the time to get cast nets patched, re-spool reels with new line, and replace drag washers if necessary.  Begin gathering your wire, hooks, trebles and swivels.  Acquiring a little at a time can be less shocking to your wallet than all at once.  Start stockpiling gold hook rigs and any jigs you like for catching your ladyfish and bluefish.  Get your fluorocarbon leader and learn a good line to line knot.  If looking to catch that hundred thousand dollar kingfish during the King of the Beach tournament, this is no time to go bargain shopping for your tackle.  Keep in mind there’s a reason why some of those gold hook rigs, fluorocarbon and swivels are more expensive than others.  If your motor’s running good, your bait well pumps are purring, your gear in order and your stinger rigs twisted, it’ll be just a matter of time.  Meantime with better weather conditions forecasted, mangrove snapper and some grouper have continued to gather along the many mile stretch of the ships channel in Tampa Bay .  Bait on many of the flats in the bay may have gotten scrambled a bit during the high winds and rough seas earlier this week.  They’ll be harder to detect in the churned up and dirty water.  Anchoring and chumming may be an option.  Drifting the flat and “blind” throwing the cast net may be another.

Captain Jay Mastry