April Red Grouper/ Snook
Capt. Zachary Hoffman
April 2, 2014
Homosassa - Saltwater Fishing Report
I am ecstatic right now, the Water Temps are finally where they need to be offshore right now and the Red Grouper bite is on! I went out this Tuesday and we got on some serious fish, the bite has been very slow the past few months for the red grouper due to extended cold fronts that have kept the water temps down. We started the day on a wreck and had our limit of 6 jacks in about 17 minutes….. We only caught another ten or so then we left them alone so we wouldn't burn out the spot. We used 5.5 ounce Willamson CH vertical jigs with single hooks, working them as fast as I possibly could, I always tell my clients to try to not get hooked up, as in, work it as fast as you can and tease the fish, We usually hook the bigger fish right at the boat, and it is one of the coolest things you will ever see….. Just imagine 5-10 Jacks, all over 20 pounds just fighting over your jig as they race towards you at full speed, and when they hit that thing, you better be hanging on!!! Well what the offshore guys will really be interested in is the Red Grouper, so, we found them over live bottom in 60 feet of water, we got a couple of fish drifting but the bite was slow, so I anchored up and put some chum on the bottom, we had live pins and chunks of squid on the bottom, and each time I anchored up we just sat there looking at each other for about 10 minutes, then it was on! We got a good mix of big Gags and slob reds, I averaged about 6 reds per spot, then would move on once the bite died down. We were using about 4 foot leaders with 7/0 circle hooks and 50 pound fluorocarbon, since the water was so clear. Lost a few because of the light leader, but I think we were getting more hook ups because of it.
well good luck to anyone heading offshore this weekend, the weather is looking good and we will be out there wearing them out again!
Capt. Zach Hoffman
homosassa offshore charters
Oh yea, we found some nice snook today too!
Target Species:
Red grouper, REd fish, snook
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