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FISHING HOLES Email me at danielle@seahag.com To SEA HAG MARINA main page |
Spanish Mackerel The Spanish Mackerel are chasing bait fish near the Steinhatchee Reef (see below for Reef coordinates and relief
heights). I've also had stupendous
reports that the Nine Mile Bank (29 41.10'N 083 34.60'W) and the Little Bank
(29 39.95'N 083 34.25'W) are also housing the Spanish. I've heard that taking
a 230 degree heading for 4 mile from Marker 1 will put you on them as well.
Calculating that on my chart software returns a spot at 29 36.507'N 083 31.147'W
which actually shows some bottom relief on the map. Located very close to
that area is the Steinhatchee Short Reef (29 36.632'N 083 28.482'W) which
for those of you in small boats, can fish rather comfortably since it is only
4 miles from the river mouth. You can catch Spanish Mackerel trolling or anchored.
When traveling in these areas, keep an eye out for bait pods jumping. Most
likely this bait is being chased by the Spanish Mackerel. If trolling, travel
around, NOT through the bait pod, and troll silver Clark spoons, Fairwater
Spanish rigs with the tinsel tails, Got-cha plugs with white hair tails, or Floreo lures (with white or natural hair tails) just beyond the white water
edge that the movement of the boat produces. If you anchor up, I suggest chumming
the bait and fish to the boat. You can then fish with live shrimp or cast
the artificials through the chum slick. Shown in the pictures are Ed Oehmig
and Harry Whitener who fished the Nine Mile Bank with Key Largo Flash'n Bucktails
primarily in the white color tipped with a strip of a Spanish Mackerel belly
. Sheepshead The Steinhatchee Reef is producing large sized and large quantities of Sheepshead. The Reef located approximately 9 miles from the Steinhatchee River mouth is made up of four basic bottom areas. The first, located at 29 39.480’N 083 37.49’W, is made up of scrap metal and concrete rubble, has a depth of 20 feet and a relief of 6 feet. The second, located at 29 40.018’N 083 37.564’W, is made up of steel scrap and steel boiler parts, has a depth of 22 feet and a relief of 6 feet. The third, located at 29 40.005’N 083 37.602’W, is made up of concrete culverts, mixed metal, and boiler parts, has a depth of 22 feet and a relief of 5 feet. The forth, located at 29 40.017’N 083 37.426’W, is made up of concrete culverts and mixed metals, has a depth of 22 feet and a relief of 5 feet. The Sheepshead is notorious for its bait-stealing ability. It has frequently been said that in order to catch one, "You have to set the hook just before it bites." Often the little thief takes a bait with the dexterity of a pickpocket lifting a wallet, leaving an angler "sport fishing" with a bare hook. Routinely, an experienced Sheepshead buff will fish for them by sight rather than feel. When his line twitches or begins to move, he'll set the hook forcefully. Sheepshead’s favorite baits are live shrimp, sand fleas, & fiddler crabs. It's best to fish for these sneaks with a tight line. The farther you cast from a boat, the more difficult it will be to feel or see the nibble. So when possible, try lowering your line straight down until the bait hits bottom, then tighten up immediately and very slowly raise & lower your bait or jig. This assures that your offering is down where it belongs & the system keeps a line tight for easier detection of the faint tap of a Sheepshead’s bite.
Grouper
Offshore, Grouper have been phenomenal! Doesn't seem to matter whether you
are trolling or bottom fishing but on a given day one method or the other
seem to produce more. For trolling, Sea Hag Marina recommends the Mann’s
Stretch 30+ in the colors of Perch and anything with the word "tiger" on it.
I have folks trying the new Sea Snakes to which Mann’s has added a snake
like grub tail to the head of Stretch 30+. I have not gotten any reports
back on the new lure.
As
for bottom fishing, Spanish Sardines are selling well, along with
Cigar Minnows, Squid, Thread Herring, and Mackerel. Folks are
fishing in about 50 foot of water. Some hot spots are the Super Ledge (29
22.817’N 83 45.675’W) and the Crack (29 23.819’N 083 42.722’W). Since the
bottom at these points is part of a shelf, trolling between & around
these two numbers will allow you to find other hot spots yet undiscovered &
housing some really nice grouper. To the left is the Marvin Dickey group
with a nice grouper catch from 4/13. The folks aboard the "Frayed Knot"
followed the exact instructions listed above & caught 8 fine grouper on
trolling the Fire Tiger & the
Red Tiger Stretch 30+ lures.
Bluefish and Amberjack While fishing the flats and especially the reefs, expect to catch some really nice Bluefish and an occasional Amberjack. Shown here is Alison who landed this fine Bluefish aboard the adbiz.chum boat on April 13th. For the second picture, it took a group effort and a boat chase to keep this large Amberjack from breaking some small test line.
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Kingfish It is the season for the Kingfish to be in. I've been told when you see the pretty purple and pink wild flowers lining the county roads, it's Kingfish season. So far it has been a little slow but I'm hear from folks further south that they are thinning and moving to the north around the big bend. So far we have seen a few smaller fish and I suspect this weekend will prove that the bigger ones are finally starting to appear. Troll a chrome colored Stretch 30+ with less line out so that it will stay closer to the surface. These young men were more than excited to land their first Kingfish of the season.
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Don't forget the Optimist Club Fishing Tournament is this Saturday, April 20th. We will keep Sea Hag Marina's tackle and bait shop open Friday night until 9:00pm and we will be open Saturday April 20th at 5:30am. Stop by early to get all your fishing needs and miss the crowd. Also, our Tiki Bar will be open as well.