Captains Corner: Jay Mastry

The Tampa Bay Times

It’s “King of the Beach” weekend and Saturday’s weigh-in promises to be something to see.  It’s taken a forty plus pounder to win tournaments the last couple weekends and this one won’t be any different.  With light winds forecasted anglers will be able to get to their favorite hunting grounds.  Some will be offshore, some not.  There has been kings caught this week within two miles of the beach along our coastline from Clearwater to Sarasota and beyond.  On our last trip we caught kings, mackerel and more bonita than we wanted while anchoring in 20 ft. off St. Pete Beach.  We started them off with a chum bag and a quality chum block (and they are not all created equal, spend a little more and purchase tournament blocks with menhaden oil in their mix).  We kept them going with a steady stream of live chummers in our slick.  There has been increasing numbers of kings being caught in many of the traditional hot spots, inside Tampa Bay and even from the Skyway Fishing Piers among them.  The Old Salt Fishing Foundation sponsors these events twice a year, first for the fall run and then again in the spring.  The most popular and highest paying kingfish tournament on Florida’s west coast is November 9-11.  The family oriented three day festival at Roc Park in Madeira Beach features live music, numerous vendors, a variety of food and plenty to drink.  Come out and enjoy the comradery and see who gets crowned the King for this season.

Captain Jay Mastry