After some nice kingfish action and some keeper grouper, we ran into a little trouble 20 miles out. Since we have never been towed before and have Sea-tow as a ace in the hole. It finally payed off the 150 a year. We were towed in at 20miles an hour quite a nice ride. The Sea-ray now in the shop we have time to write and show our experience this weekend on the Gulf of Mexico waters.
Here is some data on this weekends Grouper fishing expedition . We are all geared up and set for a little fishing tournament for grouper, hosted by the St Josephs Sound Anglers club.
Weigh in at Pop Stancils Park Palm Harbor Fl. at 5p Sat. Good luck to all See you there. From the LuckyAngler crew and our Boat the Mistress. (SeaRay 240)
OFFSHORE :
For our area West of tarpon springs from 50 to 70 feet of water would be your best bet, Mackerel will be from a half mile from the beaches outward if you care to have a little fun while going for your Keeper groupers. Live Pinfish on a number 3 to 5 hook with a 6 to 8 ounce sinker should get you to the bottom. Bring some live shrimp as well with the moon phases this time of the month Mango snappers fishing will be a nice cooler prize as well. Lighten up your tackle for fishing for Mango’s go with a spinning reel .
Grouper fishing resumed in federal waters Last week. Anglers fishing between 70 and 90-feet scored gag grouper west of Pinellas, and red grouper west of Bradenton and Sarasota. Anglers working deeper waters between 30 and 40 miles offshore are finding a decent bite on amberjacks, lane, yellowtail, vermilion, and mangrove snapper, triggerfish, porgies, and scamp.
Wrecks west of Pinellas are beginning to show signs of the spring kingfish migration. Kings weighing between 5 and 20-pounds have been typical. Most are very skinny, but looking for bait schools.
WX and Tides :
.SATURDAY…NORTHEAST WINDS AROUND 5 KNOTS. BAY WAVES LESS THAN 2 FEET. BAY AND INLAND WATERS A LIGHT CHOP. SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS. .SATURDAY NIGHT…NORTH WINDS AROUND 10 KNOTS. BAY WAVES LESS THAN 2 FEET. BAY AND INLAND WATERS A LIGHT CHOP
Speckled Trout (Cynoscion nebulosus) also know as speck is a very important gamefish in the Gulf of Mexico as well as the Atlantic Ocean. Speckled Trout are easy to identify. They have elogated bodies with spots. The spots are more prominent when young and are more numerous on the back. Specks have two very easy to recognize identification features. They have two large canine teeth and the inside of their mouths are yellow. Specks grow to a maximum size of about 16lbs although the average is about 1 pound.
Specks are a coastal saltwater species of the Florida coast where they range from brackish water out to the close in rigs. The young speckled trout start their lives out in the marshes and small brackish lakes of coastal Florida. As they grow in size and becomes less vulnerable to larger predators they move there residence further out. Also speckled trout are a schooling species so once you find one there are usually more!
Speckled trout can be caught year round. They are unusual in the respect that there are two distinct groups of anglers that fish for them. Winter fisherman and spring summer fisherman. Some people wait until the cold weather of the fall before venturing out in search of specks and reds in the coastal marshes. Others can’t wait until Spring and Summer so they can hit the beaches, shallow rigs, and larger bays in search of their quarry. These two groups are actually targeting two different groups of fish with obviously some overlap. The speckled trout fisherman that hit the surf and shallow rigs or fishing the adult population and therefore catch speckled trout of a much larger size on average than the marsh speck chasers.
Key Notes and Tips:
*Speckled trout usually start there spawning runs in May. This is when they move to the beach and passes where the actual spawning occurs.
*Smaller seatrout feed heavily on shrimp where as the larger spotted seatrout prefer small fish.
*Speckled trout caught in the surf will commonly run from 2 to 4 pounds, you can often walk to the back side of the same island and start catching smaller 1 pound specks.
*A favorite technique is to fish at night under bright lights.
*May is usually the best month to catch the trophy specks because this is when they hit the beaches fat with roe.
*Speckled trout often can be found below bird that are diving on small fish or shrimp as the specks hammer them from below.
