Venice Inlet and the Gulf of Mexico
Capt. Dave Pinkham
March 18, 2007
Venice - Saltwater Fishing Report
Grouper Season Opened March 15th
The kingfish bite out on the gulf continues to be red hot! The action has been so good that catching a mess of king mackerel on just about every one of our charters has been pretty much a sure thing. Obviously this is awesome news for anyone that likes to catch fish.
With all the hoopla going on with the kings, we’ve managed to keep all of our anglers happy for the past month catching lots of fish despite the fact that grouper have been out of bounds from February 15th through March 15th.
The big news out on the gulf now is that grouper season is once again open and it looks like there’s some decent numbers of both red grouper and gag grouper making a showing. With the closed grouper season now behind us, this is the time of year to put some lead on and get your bait down to the bottom.
I’m sure you’ve all heard the saying that there’s more than one way to skin a cat. That same adage could be applied to fishing for grouper as there is most definitely more than one method that can be used to fish for them.
One technique that works well when targeting gag grouper is to anchor the boat over some hard structure such as a ledge or a sunken boat and drop down a few live pinfish. By concentrating fishing efforts over some sort of structure your odds of catching a keeper gag grouper will go way up.
Generally this time of the year gag grouper should be moving closer to the coast putting them inside of the 20-mile range. When a good school of gag grouper is located it’s not uncommon for the bite to last until most of the fish are caught. With this in mind take only what you plan to eat and release the rest for another day.
Before heading out on the gulf always be sure to check out the weather forecast as wind and sea conditions can change rapidly. Always consider the variables in the environment such as tides, barometric pressures, and the solunar tables when heading out to catch fish. As changing weather fronts approach fish will often feed. Be sure to monitor the marine radio throughout the day for changing weather and sea conditions. Don’t waste too much time in muddy water conditions.
Also be sure to bring several different weight rod and reel combos. This will allow you to target different species and sizes of fish. Often when the fish are slow to bite, gearing down to lighter tackle will turn things around in your favor. Keep terminal rigs as light as possible. Natural baits such as shrimp and fish are hard to beat and can be purchased at area tackle and bait shops.
Courtesy to other anglers is very important. It is a no-no to pull close to a boat that is at anchor fishing. The exception to this rule would be fishing around the artificial reefs. When fishing or diving around these county reef locations idle speeds are encouraged for the safety of all. Please handle all fish to be released carefully. The idea is to get the fish back in the water as quickly as possible. This will greatly increase their chance of survival.
If you’re not out fishin, you’re wishin you were. Get out and go fishin cuz” it’s good fer ya!
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