Vortex Charters Fishing Report
01-21-2004
Captain Chuck MacIntyre
Vortex Charters of Tampa Bay
www.vortexcharters.com
Winter Grouper fishing in Florida can sometimes be both frustrating and rewarding in the same day. The key to turning a frustrating day into a rewarding one is to be ready to change plans, once Plan “A” fails. This was the case on Saturday, when light winds allowed us to run 28 miles into the Gulf searching for warmer water and hungry Grouper.
Targeting an area in 90 feet that has never failed me, I soon began to wonder why we were not marking any fish, much less catching any as well.
Digging deep into the GPS for any surrounding numbers, I found one closer to shore some 10 miles away. By then the wind had picked up, so we decided to scout the area some more in search of fish. Fifteen minutes and 2 miles later, POW! Huge stacks of bait showed on the monitor, with even greater numbers of Grouper just below them. We anchored up and sabiki’ed up a few Cigar minnows and Spanish Sardines. The Howard family would shoot them right back down to the waiting Grouper and the 2 hour Slam Fest was on; highlighted by Tyler Howard’s 20 pound Gag.
We also downsized the tackle and were rewarded with a few extra Mango Snapper.
Good Fishin’ to ya!
Capt. Chuck MacIntyre
www.vortexcharters.com
