Venice Inlet and the Gulf of Mexico
Capt. Dave Pinkham
May 24, 2000
Venice - Saltwater Fishing Report
Today the wind was breezing up pretty good out of the south, and although the weather service called for a light east wind with seas two to three foot, it was more like four to five. The fish bit like crazy all day. We started out trolling spoons and big lures in 50 foot deep. First fish on was a 26” gag grouper. After that we got into kingfish and little tunny.
Grouper, especially the big ones have started moving out to deeper water. Plan on a longer day out on the water to bring home the keepers. Snapper fishing has been good. There’s plenty of mangrove and yellowtail snapper on structure such as wrecks and the artificial deeper reefs. To catch snapper I always anchor down and fish the bottom. Once they turn on action can be non-stop.
The word is out that the permit are making a showing on any decent structure offshore. Crabs and or shrimp make the best baits. The problem isn’t always hooking into a permit; it’s getting the permit to the boat before a big jewfish inhales it.
If you want blackfin tuna now is a good time to target them. Count on running out 25 miles or so before you get to the hot zone. Schools of this awesome gamefish are often seen jumping as they move up and down the coastline. They’ll hit just about anything as long as it’s moving fast enough to excite them.
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