http://www.tampabay.com/sports/outdoors/Captain-s-Corner-With-red-snapper-season-ending-new-targets-emerge_170142950

With red snapper season coming to an end it is time to start focusing on other summertime species that will be making their way into our area. Offshore in depths of 120-150 feet, huge schools of small Spanish sardines are spending most of their time on the bottom trying to avoid hungry pelagic species. These sardines make their way to the surface during morning looking for food, so predators will be in the area. During August and September it is almost a certainty when fishing in depths of more than 100 feet to encounter mahi, tuna, kingfish and the occasional wahoo and sailfish. These fish work areas with large concentrations of bait over hard-bottom, wrecks and springs. Have an arsenal of different rods rigged and ready at a moment’s notice. To the fish we are just random flotsam, so they will be ready to eat right away. I have spinning rods onboard at all times: one rigged with 30-pound leader connected to a 6/0 circle hook for mahi or tuna; another rigged with 30-pound leader with a small trace of wire leader and a 4/0 live bait hook; another with 40-pound leader to a larger 8/0 circle hook for cobia or sailfish; and the last one with a high-speed lure to cast longer distances to fish feeding on the surface.

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

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