Time for Tripletail
Summer is here and the tripletail bite is on fire. During the month of June, heat can be an issue. Try to fish in the early morning and evening hours. Fishing during the evening hours may be difficult to do when predictable afternoon storms roll in. So, make sure to keep a lookout for lightning and wind. These fish are highly active on the right tidal movement and many can be caught. Tripletail have a great reputation for their performance abilities when being hooked into. From lots of drag pull and jumps, to breakoffs and pulled hooks. Many anglers go to great lengths just to catch one.
Locating tripletail right now is not very hard. They can be found along beaches, passes, and in the open water. On rising and falling tides, tripletail will be found on and around vertical structure, floating objects, and floating on the surface of the water. Passes hold many tripletail this time of year, especially due to their spawning migration that starts in May and ends in late summer. The popular areas for tripletail located along the Gulf beaches are St. Joseph Sound, Clearwater Beach, the Intercoastal waters around Johns Pass, St. Pete Beach, and many others. They can also be found inside Tampa Bay.
The most popular methods used to catch tripletail are very simple to learn and use. I recommend free-lining live or cut scaled sardines, or live shrimp within the target area or “strike-zone” using 30-pound fluorocarbon leader and a 3/0 hook. The addition of a cork, or a few split-shot, may be necessary to keep baits in the specific location during stronger tides.
The phrase “match the hatch” is a tried and true method used to select the proper bait for fishing any given area. The Pinellas County waterways right now are filled with scaled sardines. These leaf size bait-fish are great for catching tripletail, especially when there are many swimming about. Scaled sardines can be caught by throwing a cast net or you can buy them at select bait and tackle stores. I recommend catching enough to use for bait as well as a few extra to throw as chum. You will be able to find these baitfish at the channel markers and shallow to deep transition areas nearest boat channels. I use a 10-foot 3/8 mesh Humpback cast net to gather my bait. I can usually catch enough bait for a trip in one or two casts due to the ease of opening in the net design. If you’re interested in catching tripletail, there is no other time like now to target them.