Captain’s Corner: Jay Mastry

The Tampa Bay Times

Years ago there were a series of artificial reefs made off St. Pete Beach.  They were strung out about a mile apart in 20 feet of water between the Don CeSar and Blinds Pass.  When I was a kid they were marked with buoys A, B, C and D.  While the buoys have long since been gone, the structure has remained.  Bait will often stack up on these structures when the rest of the beach is relatively barren.  This is traditionally the time of year we like to anchor on one of these patches of hard bottom with a baitwell full of whitebait for live chumming and light spinning tackle.  When you really get em’ going behind the boat, it’s not unusual to have three, four or more mackerel on at a time for as long as you care to catch them.  Be prepared to get up and go because every now and again you may have to run down a kingfish that’s worked their way into your chum line.  The strong tides of this current new moon phase is an ideal time to check if they’re here yet.  If the tide slows and baits begin sinking to the bottom, getting off the anchor and slow trolling may become a more productive method.  If looking for something a little bigger to tug on, it’s little surprise with water temperature still bathwater warm and an abundance of bait there, the north Skyway Fishing Pier has been a hot spot for tarpon.  While there Wednesday morning I spoke to an angler that had five on.  He wrestled eight the day before.

Captain Jay Mastry