So, Tim and I arrived at the Merry Pier bright and early Saturday morning for the full day fishing trip aboard Miss Pass-A-Grill. Hint #1- make reservations. We didn’t, and almost didn’t make it on board. Anyway, the slow, lumbering boat cast off around 8:30, and headed west.

Hint #2- Dress warm for a January trip. With the wind blowing and the temp in the low 60’s, it was a little chilly headed out (and, particularly, headed back in later in the day). We arrived at our first drop around 11:00, in 60′ of water, about 20 miles offshore.

A few small grouper and reef fish were landed, and it was time to move. This pattern would repeat for about a dozen drops over the next few hours. It seemed as if, just as the bite started, the engines would fire up and we’d be on our way.

A word about the conditions- it was l a little breezy. We had 3+ foot swells, and the boat movement was enough to make even hardened fisherman a wee bit queazy. Hint #3- straight shots of Crown Royal for breakfast = bad idea on a rolling boat trip.

So, how bout the fish? Between Tim and I, we managed a few keepers, including key west grunt, triggerfish and… a Hogfish, of all things! made for a good fish fry for the Divisional Playoff games on Sunday. We threw back a number of short scamp, red and gag grouper.

Overall, it was a fun trip- but not one I’m anxious to repeat any time soon. Much better to save up and spring for a trip on a private charter, and leave the head boats to the tourists.

 

 

 

 

Staurday, spent a couple of hours at the Merry Pier. The usual assortment of trash fish- but, there was a school of snook in the vicinity. Out of curiosity, I hooked a lizardfish in deeper water, and reeled it up to the dock. There, I let it swim around near the pilings, about 3 feet down.

Sure enough, a nice size snook came up from the depths, and looked it over. Wham! ‘Course, he had me in the pilings in a few seconds. I repeated this process several times. If only I had brought some heavier tackle.

Sunday, went out on Miss Pass-A-Grille for the half day trip. Took forever to get out 7 miles, where we made the first of three drops. Bagged a nice key west grunt, then we moved. On the second drop, I nailed a 20″ gag- fun on the light spinning tackle I was using. We moved again, and on the third drop, I caught a few nice triggerfish- which is what I was really after in the first place.

Saw a few people string a dozen or so fish, and I don’t think anyone came away empty handed. My only complaint is that we spent way to much time on a boat ride- I doubt we had 60 totla minutes of actual fishing. Maybe next time I’ll opt for the full day.

Anyway, I’m off to cook triggerfish. Here’s a great triggerfish recipe.

Shrimp are the universal bait- pretty much anything that swims will eat a shrimp. The are readily available year round, inexpensive, easy to keep alive, and can be used to target pinfish to tarpon. Tampa Bay fisherman rely on live shrimp!

Shrimp are graded according to size. “Regulars” are, in fact, small- and sometimes tiny. These are the ones that are left if you don’t get to the bait store soon enough. These are also typically the only size available during the heat of the summer. “Select” or “Handpicked” shrimp are usually pretty hefty. These are the ones you’re looking for if you’re targeting fish larger than a couple of pounds. The largest, “Jumbos” are actually not often seen. If you are able to get a couple dozen of these, forget fishing and head straight for the nearest grill. I’ve seen Jumbos that topped half a pound… scary stuff.

 If you are targeting species that that prefer to attack a lively shrimp, such as snook or redfish, always hook the shrimp through the ‘horn’ at the front of the head, being careful to miss the dark spot (the brain). Size the hook to the shrimp, not to the fish you are after. If you’re after bottom dwells that aren’t particularly picky (say, whiting), then tail hook the shrimp by running the point of the hook through the last tail joint (the thickest part), and threading it up as far as possible through the body, letting only the point emerge. This will provide maximum security for long casts, and at the same time make the bait less susceptible to getting nibbled off by pinfish.

Spent a half day Sunday at Merry Pier. You already pretty much know the story- tons of pinfish, puffers (oooh!), grunts, lizardfish, and sand perch. The catch of the day was a nice 19″ Spanish Mackeral that attacked a live shrimp as soon as it hit the water. Tim joined me, but we came up empty handed in our search for redfish. We fished the bottom of the outgoing tide, so that probably had a lot to do with it.

The local headboat, Miss Pass-A-Grille, returned from a half day trip with a pretty decent catch, I saw some heavy stringers of Key West grunts, along with some huge triggerfish, and some black sea bass. A big cobia rounded out the catch- all caught within 7 miles of shore. I’m thinking it’s time for a little boat trip.

So, I ushered in 2007 on the Merry Pier. Tim from Tampa joined me for a rainy day of fishing. Catch of the day was redfish. Lots of ’em. And all just an inch or so shy of being legal. Ahh, so close. Maybe in a month or so.

Also caught a few bluefish- a nice surprise. Small, but healthy. Rounding out the day were whiting, lizardfish, a lane snapper, pinfish a’plenty, puffers (you there, Matt?), sand perch, and a pelican. Typical.

The reds were schooling under the remaining bait schools, and readily attacked live shrimp. I was broken off by a huge one… but the rest were all in the 16-17″ range, and quite aggressive.

So…. fish? Shop? Fish? Shop? Shopping won out. Time for fishing next weekend!

Spent Saturday on Merry Pier with Tim and Craig. The trash fish were in abundance, as we hauled in a steady stream of pinfish, lizardfish, small grunts, puffers, etc. The lone highlight occurred as I was reeling in a bare hook- a small Spanish Mackeral smashed it, the sole gamefish of the day. No sign of grouper or sheepshead, which is a little perplexing. A decent black drum came in on the Pass-A-Grill jetty.

I was over at Sunset Park, next to Woody’s, this weekend, and I did observe lots of small sheepshead, along with a couple preety big snook hanging in the current. Maybe that’ll be the target next trip.

A quick Sunday trip to the Merry Pier yielded the first sign that winter has arrived- in the form of an enormous Whiting. Seriously, I thought it was a rat red as I brought it to the dock. As you may know, whiting are schooling fish, so I expected to get a few dozen more, but it was not to be. A small grouper and a few lizardfish were the only other action of the day. Still better than getting skunked.

The question, “What’s the best bait?” often arises when fishing Pass-a-Grille and Southern Pinellas County. So, here’s my two cents worth.

Bait falls into two catagories- live bait and lures. We’ll save lures for another day. The best live bait depends largely on the species that you’re targeting. Common inshore live bait includes shrimp, tubeworms, whitebait, greenbacks, grunts, pinfish, fiddler crabs, and more.

Fiddler crabs and tubeworms are pretty much exclusively used when targeting sheepshead. A common tactic is to scrape barnacles from the pilings, and allow them to drift in the current. This sets up a scent trail that the sheepshead will follow to the source. Barnacles, by the way, also make a pretty decent sheepshead bait if you can figure out how to get them on the hook.

Whitebait and greenbacks are caught using a cast net. They vary widely in size. Smaller ones are good for snapper, small grouper, flounder and Spanish mackeral. Large ones work for snook, trout, bigger grouper, redfish and the occassional tarpon. Throw a medium one out, and you never know what will end up hitting it.

Shrimp, of couse, is the most popular bait in this area. You can use frozen shrimp- but don’t! The only excuse is if the bait store is out of live shrimp. In the winter, it’s easy to find jumbo, and select shrimp. Spring and fall offers ‘hand picked’ shrimp. And, in the heat of summer, you may find only ‘regular’ (which is to say tiny) shrimp. Here’s a quick rule of thumb- big shrimp, big fish!

Keep your shrimp alive using a bait bucket with an air pump. An insulated bait bucket seems to extend shrimp longevity by many hours. You can use a ‘flow thru’ bait bucket, but you’ll spend a lot of time pullin gthe bucket out of the ocean and putting it back.

Proper hooking technique is critical! You should always match your hook size to the bait, not to the fish you’re trying to catch. A size 2 hook is fine for most shrimp; maybe a 1 or 1/0 for select size. You will not a ‘horn’ on the head of the shrimp, with a couple of dark spots below. Hook the shrimp through the horn, either in front of or between the dark spots. This allows the shrimp to swim and kick normally. If you are having a problem with smallr fish stealing shrimp, you may consider the ‘tail hook’ technique, but this will immobilize, and soon kill the shrimp.

 

Pinfish and grunts are great for snook, redfish, grouper and trout. Hook them just in front of the dorsal fin, or through the meaty part of the tail. Grunts alwys seem to outproduce pinfish, due, of course, to their load grunting sounds- a true snook magnet!

Well, I didn’t get skunked yesterday in Pass-A-Grille. Not exactly bountiful fishing, though. The highlight of the three hours was a single 14″ grouper. A few lizard fish, pinfish, and puffers joined the party. Yup, still slow. I did see a few small fish caught by other anglers, including a Spanish mackeral, sheepshead, and a pair of small redfish.

After the warming trend we’ve had this week, and the return of two tide days, and the impending front due tomorrow, it sure seems like all the conditions are perfect for great fishing. Guess somebody forgot to tell the fish, though. Maybe next weekend….