KINGFISH...Huh?
(Pinch me, it is February still, right?)
Gary Anderson
Singing the song “Oh Canada!” comes to mind when I think of Travis or the guy with the magic flip-flops as he casts out a chunk of Jack on his Penn 950 Spinning outfit, with one-hundred pound Power-Pro, sets his rod down next to mine and wham! Bam! “FISH ON!” Jew time with a 350 pound, guessing, Goliath Grouper…
On another note I hear the word King aloud and believe it or not, they either never left or it is an early arrival but the Kings are in. Reports of sizable King Mackerel, in forty feet of water and plenty taken off the beaches in the school size of small to barely keepers are abundant and the bite is on using Black Salties to hardware. If you are looking for Black Salties, contact me and I will hook you up, one way or another!
Inshore there is a lot of redfish, great snook action, and some nice speckled trout all being caught this week, along with dancing ladies and Goliath Groupers at around 350 plus pounds out at the Venice, Florida pier at dusk. Black Powder, Inshore Florida jerkbaits, Chugbugs, and Exude Darts are producing nice fish this week. Lemon Bay is producing the best bite right now. Red on White ‘Black Powder’ jerks and dark Chug bugs are the best baits in hardware for the Sun Coast, over the past week. There are still some pompano around in Stump Pass and at Little Gasparilla Pass, though they are hard to find elsewhere and believe me, we have been on the prowl. Silly Willy Jigs have been the best bet for the pompano with the most productive bite on the high tides. The Head bite has been sporadic, this week, with small schools on the flats. Water temperatures have been averaging in the mid sixties, and not cold enough to get a heavy feed on.
Throughout the Sarasota, Little Sarasota bay and the Alley along with the skinnies of the ditch, the speckled trout bite has been on fire. Live bait or artificials are working equally well. Snooking has also come back to life around areas with tidal action and structure. Redfish, around dock structure, and in the skinnies of low tide are a best bet. The bait of choice has been fresh-cut ladyfish for the redfish with an occasional snook taking the bait as well. Blackburn continues to hold a school of enormous jack crevalles with the sheepshead bite finally turning on with the colder nights this past week. Anglers are reporting nice catches on most outings. Sand Fleas with a small cork are working best while fished drifting along the rocks with a number one Eagle Claw Circle Snelled rig. The South Jetty has been reporting the best catches this week. Snook have been all over the place and seem to be on the bite at the high end of the tides, which have been during the night this past week. Dock lights are HOT at night.
Offshore the water has been like a lake, between passing low pressures, however not many anglers going out. The Federal grouper closure, which took effect recently, is keeping most offshore anglers from going out at all. Those that are out are finding the bite in the shallows between 40-50 feet for gag grouper. Silver trout are still biting around the Venice City Pier along with Spanish mackerel up to about a half-mile off the beaches. Amberjack, those yard dogs, are in 80-90 feet of water around the wrecks in the 40-60 pound range. Jumping into the 70-100 range of water depth, the red grouper bite, is awesome, with many a Cobia coming in from the wrecks. When angling for Cobia, inshore to offshore, usually one uses Pinfish and Bluerunners as a good bait but if you can get them on the way out, try a Lizardfish and hang-on!
Angling up out around New Pass has produced a number of Hogfish in the fifteen inch range, according to reports as well, Spanish mackerel to 24 inches, triggerfish and whitebone porgies. Triggers, Porgies and Grunts along with keeper Flounder on shrimp off the bottom on the sides of the pass along with many undersized grouper and at least one keeper reported from my neighbor.
“FISH ON!”
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