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Gone
fishing Capt. Larry Blue |
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05/28/2008 |
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Fishing Archives |
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Summer
is coming, changes are in the making. Some fish are preparing
for |
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an
evening of love making and others are feasting on the abundant
bait and shellfish. |
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Snook
and Tarpon can be found close to the beach waiting for the
proper time and |
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the
phase of the moon to help in the annual ritual spawn. Pompano
and redfish will |
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fatten
their bellies on crabs, shrimp and maybe even sand fleas found
in the surf. |
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Grouper
and snapper can be found near-shore for now but will soon make
an |
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exodus offshore
for cooler, deeper water. The ever-present shark goes just about
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everywhere and will take any opportunity to take a meal of just
about any offering. |
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King and
Spanish mackerel for the most part have moved to the north.
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Although
some Spanish mackerel can still be caught, the numbers of fish
landed |
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won’t
come near to the catches we are use to in the spring. The
occasional King |
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mackerel
will even surprise anglers seeking other species such as grouper
and |
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snapper,
but consider them gone until the fall.
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The
schools of tarpon are moving along the beaches, just outside of
the swim |
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buoys
located a mere 100 yards from shore. If you rise early in the
morning and |
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stand
on the beach looking seaward you should be able to see the flash
of sunlight |
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reflected from their huge silver backs as they rise to the
surface to gulp air. For those |
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plying
for this magnificent fish that is where you should start your
quest for a chance |
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to do
battle with one of the most acrobatic fish of the saltwater sea.
You can also |
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find tarpon
in the backwaters of the bay and shallow grassflats. Once
hooked, they |
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will break
free of their watery confines trying desperately to shake your
hook. |
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Hangon if you
have any hopes of winning this, the angling battle of your life. |
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Bottom fishing for grouper and
snapper has picked up considerably. We |
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have found the best fishing to be in
depths of 50 to 80 feet. While live bait often |
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takes a good share of the larger
grouper, lately we have been having success with |
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small cut-bait. Squid and sardines
are used for grouper and a combination of both
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on the same hook is yielding
fantastic results. The water has been exceptionally
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clear, that is a good thing if you
are scuba diving. However, if you are using hook |
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and line the fish can see the leader
and often will make them somewhat weary of |
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your baited hook. It seems like such
a minor problem, but you’d be surprised how |
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dirty water can actually help
fishing. That is; where the grouper and keen-eyed |
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snapper are concerned. |
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We are
still catching a good number of sharks during our afternoon and
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evening
fishing trips. The sharks feed on a variety of fish including
stingrays. The |
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best
bait for these normally nocturnal feeders has been the mackerel
we caught |
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earlier in the day. Even though they may use smelly stinking
bait in the Hollywood |
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movies…
sharks prefer a fresh fish meal. The “Catch of the Day” works
best here. |
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As the
summer wears on, this is my favorite way of fishing. It gets
cooler after the |
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sun sets
and the sharks become more active as the evening lights and
stars come |
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out.
Perhaps you’d like to give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.
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Blackfin tuna are the highlight of deepwater adventures during
the month of |
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June and July. Most often we seek out
the offshore shrimp boats that spend the
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night looking for the shrimp we find
in the local restaurants and seafood houses. In |
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the early morning hours the shrimpers
cull their catch and will throw the bi-catch
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overboard. That bi-catch goes over
the side of the boats and right into the waiting
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mouths of tuna and really big sharks.
The tuna follow the boats at night and one
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would think they know that there is a
free meal if they just wait long enough. If you
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are there to meet the boats at first
light of morning you just might slip your bait to
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them before they get full from the
free offerings. |
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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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