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Gone
fishing Capt. Larry Blue |
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12/11/2006 |
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Fishing Archives |
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Cool air
moving in from the north will lower our water temperatures
slightly |
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and may slow down the
fishing. Unless temperatures dramatically drop, fishing will
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remain consistent but
you will have to work out the timing between the fronts to get
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out and back with a good
catch. The seas will get wind blown and rough during the
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fronts that move in. Just
keep an eye on the weather reports and check local
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conditions regularly. If
you do plan on going out in a small boat be sure to leave a
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“float plan” with someone
on shore. Safety first! |
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The past
several weeks’ grouper fishing has been excellent. Grouper move
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closer to shore during
this time of year and we don’t have as far to go to reach the
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fish. (Good thing with the
fuel prices.) On your run offshore, try out every rock pile
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and out-cropping you cross
over until you’ve located them. Most will be in the 25 to
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50 foot range. The bigger
grouper will be on the outer fringes of the hard bottom or
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ledges but will move in to
investigate the feast going on where you are catching the
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smaller ones. Most of the
smaller fish will be nearer the limestone ledges for safety
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reasons. |
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Upon finding a
rock pile that looks promising, make a test drop to see if it is
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productive before hauling
out the anchor and a couple hundred feet of line. A rod
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rigged with a dropper loop
and baited with cut squid lowered to the bottom will
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either get a fast result
or ignored. Should you feel a quick tug on the line once it hits
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the bottom toss over your
marker jug and turn the boat to set the anchor. It may take
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several minutes to come up
with a grouper. In the meantime, you will be rewarded
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with loads of smaller but
tasty fish. There are lots of reef fish that can make a good
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meal; triggerfish, sea
bass, grunts, snapper, flounder and many others can frequent the
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reef. |
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The other day
I was making a run on the Intercoastal Waterway, inside the
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Boca Ciega Bay . As I made
a turn on one of the channel markers I noticed a school
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of baitfish being herded
by a school of large speckled trout. Watch the backwaters
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for the baitfish schools
and you should find the reds and trout. Snook are up inside
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the very shallow bayous
and canals at this time. Approach any fish in shallow water
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with stealth and you
should be rewarded with a good day of fishing. |
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In closing, I
hope that 2007 is a good year for all of us. May everyone find
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the peace they seek, live
healthy productive lives and have comfort in all that they do.
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Let us all hope that the
young men and women serving overseas come home safe to
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their family, friends and
loved ones. |
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Good luck and good fishing, Capt.
Larry |
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Copyright 2007 CLB |
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Capt. Larry Blue is
USCG
licensed full time charter boat operator and guide, |
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departing from The Kingfish Dock,
at “Gators on the Pass”, in
Johns
Pass - |
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Treasure Island . He is a member
of; The Maritime Consortium, The Florida |
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League of Anglers and The
Florida
Outdoors Writers Assn. For charter |
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information call:
727-397-3773
or 727-871-1058
cell OR |
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Capt. Joe:
727-678-2959. |
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