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Venice Inlet and the Gulf of Mexico
Capt. Dave Pinkham
April 2, 2000
Venice - Saltwater Fishing Report
The front that passed through our area last week brought with it high winds and really kicked up some rough seas. All the surf action along the beaches contributed to reducing the Gulf’s water visibility. This may be partly to blame for pushing the kings away from the area. Whatever the reason, the king mackerel run we enjoyed in March temporally came to an abrupt end over the past few days. I’ve haven’t seen “tail nor fin” of one aboard my boat all week. Not to say the run is over, I’m praying it’s just a lull in the action. Let’s hope so anyway, to me the month of April is harmonious with catching kingfish.
I did see a good sign of baitfish working on the surface several miles west of the beaches over the weekend. I was returning after a day of grouper fishing and ran through several large schools of threadfin herring. All this bait offshore tells me where the food is the larger pelagic game fishes should be close by.
We have been catching some huge Spanish mackerel outside of the Venice Jetty’s. Trolling spoons behind planning boards in 25’ to 35’ of water has done the trick for us.
With the slowdown of the king action this week, I’ve also turned my attention back to bouncing baits off the bottom. Grouper fishing has been offering consistently steady action for my clients. After the front went through they were on a feed several days in a row. When the grouper start to slow down I like to drop a shrimp to the bottom on lighter tackle. This is a great way to bag a nice catch of mangrove snapper and triggerfish.
Last Thursday one of the captains out of Dona Bay Marina hooked into a 25-pound black fin tuna while grouper fishing in 75’ of water. What a battle that must have been. The tuna fell for a live grunt that was on it’s way to the bottom tied to a 4-ounce lead.
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