Finally, we MAY catch grouper
[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t’s been a long, cold, windy winter and early spring, but that was then, and this is now. Time to invite some grouper to the house for dinner. Well, I know it’s not an official “invitation,” but when they bite my Decoy Jig, they have just invited themselves to dinner!
Depending on the water temps in the 10- to 15-mile range, you may want to hold up short of making the long run for reds and scamps… you may want to stick close to the hill for some gag action. The water temps are key for putting out the light line out for a king, cobia and/or dolphin…they should read 67 or 68 degrees on the surface. Many times the cooler water inshore will be warmer 30-50 feet deep where some nice kings and cobia can be found.
Cobia will sometimes just “appear” at the back of the boat, so keep a watchful eye, and a rod rigged and ready to deploy with a live bait, or a whole frozen squid will work just fine. Try not to scream and shout or stomp your feet in the floor of the boat as this may spook them. If you have the ability to catch them, pinfish from the marina are a good bet as a “bird in hand” regarding bait… and cobia love a pinfish! Live baits, or fresh dead baits on the light line (and also on the bottom) often produce the quality bites you are looking for. ALWAYS take at least a box or two of frozen minnows and/or squid. These frozen baits are just the ticket to get the party started on the bottom, and after a half box or so of frozen minnows, start firing down the live grass grunts/pinfish/ sardines/cigs and so forth. This is usually when the “old man” gag accepts his dinner invitation. Even the “seasoned” old men of the ledge cannot deny a pretty grass grunt or pinfish on a crab Decoy Jig.
I always start everyone fishing with the frozen baits, while I am working the sabiki to produce live baits for everyone. The beauty of the live grass grunts and pinfish (the size of a baseball to a softball) is that you eliminate all the trash bites. Very few black sea bass, and ZERO pinkies, grunts and beeliners can put their mouth around a six- or seven-inch grass grunt or a pinfish the size of a softball…and if they can, that’s OK, too, because this will be the size bass that you want for dinner. Live cigs and sardines have always been my favorite, but with the swelling population of black sea bass (thanks to NOAA), these prized baits are often wasted on dink bass.
Further offshore, the light line will produce wahoo, dolphin and blackfin along with nice kings. May is when I caught my largest king ever while fishing in 125 feet of water, catching scamps, yellowmouths and red grouper. She ate a small live cigar minnow on the light line, as it was one of the last baits left in the live well.
Whatever you choose to fish for, May is one of my favorite months of the bottom fishing year. May is when the offshore world comes alive, so pick a pretty day, and get after it.