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fishing Capt. Larry Blue |
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03/31/2008 |
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Fishing Archives |
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They’re
here! King mackerel have taken up temporary residence right here |
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off the Pinellas coast. We have caught a good number of them in
the past couple of |
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weeks. Some mornings have produced double digit catches. And
the best
King |
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mackerel fishing is yet to come. There are times when a
couple of anglers in the right |
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spot can put up to 100 kingfish in the boat in just a few hours. |
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The spring kings are running from around 24 inches up to about
30 pounds, |
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or more. Most of what we catch is what we call “schoolies.” Schoolies
are fish that |
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are about 8 to 12 pounds. “Snakes” are kings that are from about
4 to 8 pounds. |
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And then there’s “Smokers.” Smokers are fish that punish a
fishing reel when they |
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strike because the line streams off the reel so fast that it
just might smoke from the |
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speed of the strike. These fish can be as much as 50 pounds, or
more. The IGFA |
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World Record is 90 pounds and that fish was caught right here in
Florida . There are |
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reports from commercial fishermen that have boated king mackerel
over 120 |
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pounds.
So you never know when the next World Record could be coming
over the |
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transom.
Maybe you’ll catch it? But you got to go fishing in order to do
so. |
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We should have great king action
during this month, and until the end of May. |
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Some kings will stick around into June if the conditions are
right. And many straggler |
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kings are often caught during the summer months. But most of
them will head north |
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following the cooler water and baitfish that migrate just ahead
of them. If you want to |
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get in on some of the best fishing that this area has to offer,
now is the time to go. |
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Spanish
mackerel have been caught off some of the bridges, as well as
the |
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beach
piers and in the surf along the beaches. But the best fishing
for Spanish |
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mackerel
is from several hundred yards offshore out to around four miles.
Look for |
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the
diving birds and you should find the bait schools. Find the bait
schools and you |
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should
find the mackerel. It’s a fairly simple process. Once located,
you cast a live |
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bait
nearby or troll small spoons around the school and you should
produce a good |
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catch.
Early mornings are usually the best time, but late afternoon can
be just as |
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productive. |
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Grouper fishing has really fired up with the spring warm-up. One
stop this |
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week
produced 14 keeper grouper in less than one hour. Now that’s
great fishing! |
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The
surprise was the bait we were using, quarter-sized pieces of
squid. Even though |
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we also
dropped whole sardines down for bait on some of the rods, the
grouper |
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seemed
to prefer the little cut squid. |
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Shark
fishing will turn on with the arrival of the king mackerel. As
the water |
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warms
the shark migrate north behind the King and Spanish mackerel. We
have |
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already
had several fish taken off our lines rather unexpectedly. It’s
easy to see that |
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something big with rather big teeth took the intended quarry
from your fishing line by |
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the
scrapes and frays on the leader when you retrieve it. Check out
my website to |
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see the
typical shark catches. |
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Good luck and good fishing, Capt.
Larry |
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Copyright 2008
Logo/editorial, Capt. Larry Blue |
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Capt. Larry Blue is a full
time charter boat operator and guide, launching from Gators
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on the Pass, in Treasure
Island . He is a member of; The Maritime Consortium, The |
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Florida League of Anglers
and The Florida Outdoors Writers Assn. For charter
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information call
727-397-3773 or cell; 727-871-1058 or |
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www.CaptainLarryBlueCharters.com
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