Captain’s Corner: Dave Zalewski

The Tampa Bay Times

Dave Zalewski 460-9893

We must have made Santa’s nice list this year. He dropped off several bonus gifts for offshore anglers in the form of Spanish mackerel, bonita and kingfish. After the high winds that kept us in port for almost a full week, we expected to take the trolling tackle off the boat until next March when the pelagic fish make their return. We have caught Spanish mackerel every day by trolling #1 planers and small spoons as we enter the no wake zone near the John’s Pass bridge. The mackerel are of mixed size with several of them being under the 12 inch fork length and many of them reaching 18 inches or more. The mid-water artificial reefs Rube Alyn, Indian Shores and South County are holding impressive amounts of baitfish for this time of year and their attendant predators both large Spanish mackerel and kingfish in the 10 to 15 pound range. #1 and 2 planers 30 feet of leader and a large spoon have been the key to success. Schools of Spanish sardines can be found on most of the high profile structure on these reefs and can be easily caught with sabiki rigs. Once a few baits are caught , slow trolling them with a stinger rig on light tackle has produced some drag screaming runs.
Bottom fishing has been spotty closer to shore because of the dirty water. It requires a run to a minimum of 60 feet of water to have any success. Once anchored on a spot, chumming with slivers of frozen sardines and squid will often jump start a slow bite. Gag grouper close on Jan 1, red grouper remain open and Lane snapper will reopen on that date