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Date: "The Tater"
Title: March 28, 2004
Date: 29 Mar 2004
Time: 09:00:00 -0500
Today, Sunday March 28th, I saw the first dimples of bait schools six miles off Steinhatchee! The explanation point I typed in indicates importance to the observation. Bait pods mean the fishing is going to pop the after burners. Brace yourself, spring has sprung. Spanish mackerel are just off shore in hordes. Earlier this week, Little B and I took a party of three near shore. We first took our boat limit of 15 sheepshead (5/person) then turned our attention to a ‘hot bite’ that the folk wanted. Spanish mackerel were ever present. We trolled spoons toward the Steinhatchee artificial reef until the action was so hot we just stopped and tossed jigs. The challenge was to reel in the jig without catching a fish. No kidding. The Spanish banged the jigs so fast that Little B and I had our hands full just taking care of three men. Between the fish removal, replacing jig bodies and re-rigging cut offs (we had two spare rods to trade out), we were busier than two one legged men at a butt kicking contest. Stop the madness! I’m covered in slime and the deck is an ice rink! Spanish mackerel are a hoot to catch. The hit is quick. The run burns reel drag. The fishing is fun. To boot, fresh grilled Spanish mackerel are a fine eat. Sprinkle a dash of cayenne pepper on the fillet and enjoy a ‘hot mac’ the way I do. For Spanish mackerel fishing with jigs, be sure and add a 12 inch section of #1 single strand wire to your main line using an Albright knot. A haywire twist is used to secure the jig head to the wire. If you don’t know how to do it, the knots and twists are illustrated on the back of the wire package. The Albright and haywire twist are connections one needs to know to become a complete fishermen. The two are a good things to know; they turn out to be very useful in other fishing situations as well. King fishing... Trout fishing is quite good at the moment. Capt. Pat Brook brought in a limit of good trout today. Pat is so good on the flats he oozes trout. When he gets out of the bath tub, somehow, there is a trout in the tub. He has the knack that thousands wish they had, including myself. Offshore, fishing is good but less than expected. “Gumbo slime”, algae, is prevalent over the rocks and reefs grouper are living on. Divers have testified the gumbo is thick. I testify by the way my baits return slimed over. The problem with catching grouper is your bait becomes coated in algae quickly in many areas. Use a longer leader to to allow your bait to be current lifted off bottom, above gumbo. Gumbo algae blooms due to water clarity. Cold water temperatures through winter have dumped phytoplankton out of the water column making visibility fantastic. The lack of phytoplankton allows sunlight to penetrate to sea floor stimulating gumbo growth. The conditions necessary for gumbo growth make for a seasonal opportunity to view your grouper holes with your eyes rather than your bottom machine. You can view the bottom terrain from 35 to 60+ feet of water. GO EXPLORING, you ride and see reef. The gumbo is a hurdle to bottom fishing but can be flipped around, for the wise, to finding new fishing spots. Little B plopped the anchor out, we floated back to a hard bottom area where the grouper were on a good nibble. At some point, Little B pinned a half of a left over baked potato, we carried out of Fiddler’s restaurant the night before, on a hook, as a joke. The ‘tater’ was part his lunch. A part of his lunch I wish I had since I’m on a no carb diet. At least the ‘tater’ is gone off the boat was my thought. Within a few minutes, the man yanked up a 23” red grouper on a Fiddlers baked tater. No kidding! That brings up the ‘pro’s pointer’ section of this article: Go with the tater strips with just butter and a dash of garlic. Sour cream and bacon bits are great on the tater but just wash off on the way down. You never know when you add saltwater. Take special care of yourself and tackle.