Captains Corner, Zalewski

The Tampa Bay Times

 Dave Zalewski 460-9893

Captain Jay Mastry wrote in a Captain’s Corner recently about experiencing great kingfish and Spanish mackerel activity through Christmas in the past. Last week before the latest cold fronts blew through it appeared that this was what was going to be true this year. We caught Spanish mackerel on the near shore and mid-water artificial reefs using #1 planers and small gold and silver spoons. Trying larger spoons behind both #1 and 2 planers did not produce any kingfish and cut back on the mackerel production. Venturing south to the shipping channel produced the kingfish. Every channel marker from markers 5 and 6 westward produced some kingfish. There were some smaller boats anchored up, anchored up and chumming with live bait. On most days this is a very sure way of catching fish. For 3 days in a row we watched the live baiters feeding the gulls with their chum, with very few bent rods. We caught many fish with the use of #2 planers and larger spoons while staying well clear of the anchored boats. The larger planer takes the lure down about 20 feet and at that depth that was where the fish were feeding. The use of the same spoon behind a #1 planer produced very few strikes. Perhaps there was a thermo cline that was comfortable for the fish, but for whatever reason the fish stayed at that depth. Hopefully these fronts will not force the fish south and we will be able to troll until the end of the year.