http://www.tampabay.com/sports/outdoors/Captain-s-Corner-Offshore-fishing-will-be-strong-for-awhile_169284831

June and July offer some of the year’s best offshore fishing. Targets such as red snapper, blackfin tuna, mahi­mahi, wahoo and sailfish make their way through our area and make appearances on many trips to depths of 120 feet or more. Red snapper are in season. Target depths vary depending on where you’re fishing. For instance, if heading north of Clearwater, start looking in depths of 70 feet on rock piles and ledges. If heading south, the starting target depth is 120 feet. These fish aren’t picky when it comes to bottom structure; if there’s bait there, chances are snapper will be there, too. Baits should be on the smaller side, such as sardines, pilchards or even squid. Watch your bottom machine for large shows, stop the boat over them and drop. If you don’t get a hit in the first 30 seconds of getting to the bottom, look elsewhere. Like all snapper these are schooling fish and since they are aggressive, they should hit the bait before it hits the bottom. June also is the start of trolling season. Recent trips to depths of 130 feet or more have produced many blackfin tuna and a few mahi, so the rest of the season looks promising. The Loop Current is quite a bit south of our area now but will be pushing its way up here this month. As it does, it will bring much-needed nutrients to our waters, thus bringing great trolling. A simple trolling spread works fine. This consists of running two smaller baits such as Billy Baits on either side, about 50 yards behind the boat. These are your tuna and mahi baits. Inside of them run a couple of Islanders with ballyhoos short on either side. These baits are great for sailfish and wahoo.

Steve Papen charters out of Indian Shores and can be reached at (727) 642-3411 and fintasticinc.com.

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