Red Snapper season still going strong

Captains Corner 06-21-15 What's hot- Bottom fishing for Grouper and Snapper will continue to be our main target for the next couple of months. While Gag Grouper will remain closed until the end of this month, Red Grouper and Scamp Grouper are open and are feeding very heavily in depths of 100-160 feet of water. The typical summer spawn of juvenile Spanish Sardines have taken up residence in these depths and the Grouper and Snapper are right under them. Tactics- Look in hard-bottom areas for edges and rolls in the bottom with large fish shows on them. When a spot is located, mark it and spin around for a test drop. Position your boat right over the show and drop a mixture of both live and frozen baits. You should know if the fish are there or not in less than a minute. If the desired species is caught right away, anchor, don't drift as drifting will scatter those fish and make them much harder to catch. Tackle- Standard 60-80 lb tackle on conventional style set-ups will work fine, but larger spinning tackle will make a bit more sporting. Classic fish finder rigs with a sliding leads work much better than a swivel lead, because the line moves freely through the lead thus the fish will not feel any tension when they take the bait. Other species- Mangrove and Lane Snapper are also in these same areas. Downsizing your rigs to lighter 20-30 lb and a smaller lead has been the trick to getting these tasty fish in the cooler. If you can, a quick cast net session at the local bridge should yield some perfect size whitebait, which will drive those fish nuts. Capt. Steve Papen Fintastic Fishing Charters 727-642-3411 www.fintasticfishingcharters.com