During the past week, the spring run of the Kings has started to trickle down the beaches of our west coast from Boca north to Venice and across Tampa Bay. Most are sporadic at best but it is starting with plenty of schoolies along with a few smokers in the forty-pound range, thrown in for good measure. It started with my putting up a trolley on the Venice City Pier last weekend as all laughed and said, “Mr. A, it is too early to be trying this out.” To which my reply was watch and learn for the voice of the sea has spoken to my soul and the poons are here. Sure enough, I landed and released a small but fatty seventy-pounder as all watched in awe with my Penn Mariner toped out at 850 yards of twenty-five pound test Big Game Green. With the kids out of school (High School) for spring break, hence it is easily stated after I put up a story on a couple of Blogs and on both The Island Anglers and Inshore Florida, the pier has been chalked full of trolley anglers in the daytime with the sharkers to follow the setting of the sun. Everybody that encounters me wants to know more about trolley fishing; the best reel to use and what bait gets the bite. Now that season is moving up the beach, I concur this would be of an excellent time to get you in gear and head for the beach for the run has begun. With the Kings and Tarpon presence, their groupies and fan clubs, the sharks, have arrived in great numbers also this week. It started with my nine-foot hammer and has produced lemons, sandbars, blacktips, reef, bruiser bulls and a 13-foot hammer caught last night on an Avet. On any given weekend, the sharkers out on the pier, range between 18 to 36 baits in the water and reels include Avet, Accurate, Penn, Penn International, Shimano, Calcutta and Duel’s, all in a battle to who will catch the biggest fish.
Last night most of the bait at the pier was on spring break too, as they have left to party elsewhere, with the Kings to tarpon tagging right along. The only ones staying around are the sharks and this year is one like never seen before, or at least in my 18 years here on the Sharks Tooth Coast, where the Hammerheads are as thick as can be with nine caught this first week of the run on the beach.
Using Black Salties that I purchased in North Port at Fine Bait & Tackle, 14503-D Tamiami Trail 941-240-5981,
I managed a couple of under sized slot snook and double rigging the baits (one on the main hook and one on the trailing snag) I lost a really nice king due to my hook size. Oh well, live and learn. I called Mike Cavallo (The Tarpon Terminator) this morning, he, and son Dennis were out on the pier looking for, any guesses, tarpon when he got slammed by something and then it was nothing; “FISH ON! FISH GONE!” After two hundred yards of Suffix peeled from his Calcutta this fish said adios but at least Mike got his rigging back, minus a hook. Sounds like shark to me!
If I can shake this cold or flu or fishing trip killer, I will be back on the boards tomorrow at sunset with trolley in place in hopes for a smoker king for my smoker; King Pate’ an anglers delight on any cracker.
“FISH ON!”
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