Springtime Tournaments
Spring is the season for rod-bending action, because gamefish leave their winter haunt for the flats and estuaries.
Many fishing tournaments kick off in spring such as King of the Beach, My Warriors Place and several Grand Slam Tournaments. Ana Banana Fishing Company likes to compete in all of them. Following is how we like to fish them in the spring.
King of the Beach: We have placed in this tournament several years, and won first place in 2012. Some years, the kingfish are deep out in the Gulf; or, shallower nearshore or even in the bay. It all depends on weather and bait. Water clarity also plays a big part of where the kings are–we usually find them in the clearest water. We like to slow troll or drift ladyfish and/or Spanish mackerel. For our win in 2012, we were fishing the 90 foot hole off Egmont Key. There was a huge king jumping and busting on some smaller Spanish about 200 yards away from the boat. We quickly turned our boat and trolled two live 18inch ladyfish over the spot where we spotted the king. Sure enough, it exploded on our ladyfish and the rest is history–he was a winner.
My Warriors Place Tournament: This is a species tournament. One of each species of fish can be entered into this tournament–if it swims, it counts; but, they all must be caught on hook and line.
In this tournament we like to have a bunch of different baits. To catch most baitfish we like to use Sabiki rigs and for sheepshead and black drum we like to use black sea crabs. To catch snook, redfish, jacks, grouper, cobia and trout, we like to specifically use greenbacks. For snapper, grunts, flounder, bonnethead sharks and seabass, we like to use shrimp. To catch Spanish mackerel, bluefish, ladyfish and bonita, we like to use gold spoons. For blacktips, bull sharks, hammerheads, lemon sharks, Atlantic sharpnose sharks and nurse sharks we like to use ladyfish chunks. To catch permit and pompano, we like to use Silly Willie jigs. We also catch other bi-product fish such as catfish, needlefish, stingrays, cowfish and mother in law fish. Most species tournaments are won with a dozen different species or more, and are usually an all-release tournament.
Grand Slam Tournaments: Grand Slam tournaments usually consist of snook, redfish and trout. The largest of each fish is measured and the winner of the Grand Slam is the angler with the largest of all three species combined.
To catch the biggest snook in spring we spot a pod of snook and cast a fresh cut ladyfish head into them. For large redfish, we like to fish on the ledge of were the edge of the flat meets the edge of the deeper water. We target them using a big live pinfish hooked in the back with its tail cut off, and an egg sinker a foot up from the hook. For gator trout, we like to use a large live threadfins under a bobber hooked in the nose. All Grand Slam tournaments and most other tournaments are catch and release photo/ruler tournaments. Most Grand Slam tournaments are won with 70 total inches or more. The best tournament slam I’ve ever seen was just over 100 inches total.
Whether you’re in a tournament or just out on a day of fishing, spring is one of the best times of the year. It’s all about understanding the food chain and targeting gamefish with what they want to eat in the right place at the right time.
For a charter with Ana Banana Fishing Company visit www.anabananafishing.com or call Captain Joel Brandenburg at 813-267-4401. For kids fishing camp visit www.anabananakidsfishingcamp.com or friend Joel on Facebook under Joel Brandenburg