A Little Work Gives a Big Payoff
Being a guide is a rewarding experience. Watching the smile on a young child catching his first fish, or the look on their parent’s face struggling to land the one big fish of the day, is priceless. Being the captain of the vessel, the young kids and their parents are expecting us to lead them to treasure (the fish), but we must first, ourselves, know where to go and what to do. Here is where a little work gives a big payoff.
You can’t fish the same grounds day after day. Sooner or later you are going to deplete the stock from that area. So, invest a little time learning your area. I call it spending some T & M (time on the water and money for gas) exploring new areas. Here are some ideas to make you a better angler.
Find old charts of Tampa Bay at yard sales and you will quickly find that they have a wealth of information. Did you know that Tampa Bay had over 23 wrecks between the Skyway Bridge and downtown Tampa? The old charts can lead you somewhat close to them. If you are lucky enough to find one, you have hit the jackpot. I found six of them over the years. Some were lost as silt settled over them and they slowly sank into the ground.
During spring and start of summer, the ledges in Tampa Bay produce some real nice grouper, grunts and seabass. When winter sets in, the same ledges hold large sheepshead, resident gag grouper and tripletail. And, for some unknown reason, even some big redfish.
There are several fish havens around the St. Pete pier that are no longer on modern charts. But the old charts still show them and, with a little T & M, you might just find them. They are one of my favorite spots for catching sharks during the summer months and even some nice grouper.
When looking for good hunting grounds in Tampa Bay, I would suggest the use of deep running plugs. There are several good brands on the market that can dive from 15 to 25 feet according to your speed. Pick a spot from your chart and troll an area of hard bottom. Using the tracking feature on your GPS, run a north to south pattern. When you get a strike, mark the spot with a buoy and a heavy enough weight to hold it in place. Then go back and drift the area with live pinfish, sardines or cut bait. When you get the first strike, it’s time to anchor and start catching. Oh, I forget to mention, you just found a new spot to fish.
Tackle for grouper trolling:
Okuma 7 ft. Cedros Heavy spinning rod.
Okuma Azores 8000 spinning reel.
Fins 50-pound test braided line.
50-pound fluorocarbon leader.
Tackle (sheepshead, redfish, tripletail).
Okuma 7 ft. Ricky Red spinning rod.
Okuma Helios 30 spinning reel.
Fins Windtamer 15-pound test braided line.
