Capt. Bart Marx
Hello fellow anglers, can you believe it is 2020? A New Year and let’s make some changes, New Year’s resolutions LOL. Usually those things don’t last more than a couple of weeks. I’m making a change in my fishing habits; I plan to spend more time in the Gulf trolling and bottom fishing. This month nearshore the sheepshead and flounder should be on the close-to-shore reefs and small ledges. Shrimp would be a great bait; they are close-to-shore and inshore this time of year. Shrimp makes for the best bait till about Easter. The local shrimpers pull their nets in the harbor for the bay shrimp or brown shrimp because of the water color, it makes them have a brown tint. These shrimp tend, to be as we say, sweeter- I think it is there diet in the local waters. And this time of year there are the pinks that are into the Gulf. There are places that sell these from the boat; if you find them those are the best, they are fresh YUM! So that makes shrimp a great bait Jan., Feb., March. With that said, in the 30’-50’ range hogfish, lanes, and grunts are all good table fare. When I bottom fish, I like to have several different baits frozen. I start with these and if you have live baits, shrimp or pin fish, then as the bite slows, send one of the live ones down. At times this will produce some of the bigger fish as they have been sitting back and waiting. Spanish and king mackerel should be feeding close to the passes and bait balls. You can troll a jig and spoon combo for the Spanish, or for the kings use a planer and a spoon that matches the size bait in the area. And while you are bottom fishing set out a bonus rod with something, live or not, behind the boat. I usually put a foot-long piece of wire because the kings and Spanish have razor blade teeth and will cut through mono; also use a float about 6’ from the hook. And my Pops always said kings at 72° and that is a good gauge to follow. Also, this time of year red grouper out 60’ and deeper; you can drift for them depending on the wind. If it is windy you may need eight to ten ounces of weight to keep your bait in the strike zone. Personally, I like to anchor up, this gives you a chance to find everything in the area that is hungry. Back in the day we would drift and have a marking jug ready, if two of us got a bite at the same time we threw the jug. This is where we would crank the motor and anchor at the jug. I get it, some of y’all don’t like to pull anchor and have those fancy trolling motors that have an anchor-hold button. I have a WINCH on my boat and the ball and ring that works well too. If you do anchor, I have been told to have as much chain as the length of your boat to make that thing stick the first time. This way you don’t miss your spot, sliding waiting for the anchor to stick. And always remember singing drags and tight lines make me smile. <*(((((>{
Capt. Bart Marx at 941-979-6517
