Captains Corner: Dave Zalewski

The Tampa Bay Times

Dave Zalewski 460-9893

On our last several trips we have tried the usual routine consisting of stopping at the John’s Pass marker or one of the artificial reefs on the way out to go bottom fishing with disappointing results. Bird activity was evident with both terns and pelicans diving into the water indicating bait was present. The problem was that the baits primary predator Spanish mackerel were not present. This will change any day especially with the cooling water temperatures and the clearing of the water which was stirred up by the recent hurricane that thankfully passed well offshore.
Gag grouper season is now open and that gives us another species to target on the higher profile ledges. In addition to bringing the usual frozen squid, Spanish sardines, threadfin herring, and shrimp we are bringing live pinfish and pigfish. Gag grouper are often brought to the boat by the activity created when catching white grunts, triggerfish, mango and Lane snapper and will find a live bait irresistible. Putting a live bait down on heavier tackle and often leaving the rod in a rod holder while fishing for the other species will produce a hookup. We are required to use circle hooks and the fish will hook itself not requiring the live bait rod to be attended.
We recently had a bilge pump failure while offshore and discovered that the bilge contained more water than normal. We have another pump rigged and ready to go when this occurs. This pump which is kept in a bucket is rigged with enough hose to reach from the bilge to a scupper and enough wire with alligator clips to reach the battery. Think about adding one of these to your safety equipment. It could help to save you or could be passed to another boat which is experiencing a problem with taking on water.