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Mangrove snapper, red grouper and jacks out deep

Posted Jan 16, 2012 by Tribune Sports

Updated Jan 16, 2012 at 05:26 PM

BY RANDY ROCHELLE

There are just two weeks remaining until red grouper gets shut down for a couple of months. So, if the weather allows, get out and get one ... or four. It looks like it’s going to be windy for the next couple of days, but by the end of the week things should calm down enough to get offshore far enough to get them.

Runs of at least 25 miles will be required to go far enough to find keeper red grouper. Currently, the shallowest we start fishing for reds is right around the 90-foot mark. You will also find that red grouper fishing is much better south of Tarpon Springs than to the north, where the bottom is more conducive to fishing for gag grouper.

We found the red grouper stacked up on a couple areas of hard bottom almost five miles due south of the Mexican Pride in 120 to 130 feet of water. Upon arriving at the numbers we didn’t see much of a show on either spot, but it didn’t take long after making our first drops until the fish finder lit up. If the wind and current are light, drift fishing works well. Otherwise, it’s better to anchor and fish.

Other than red grouper, mangrove snapper and amberjack are about the only other fish we are targeting right now. The Pipe and mitigation sites near the Pipe have been producing both snapper and jacks, as are wrecks out past the 100-foot mark. When fishing wrecks, it always pays to keep an outfit ready either rigged with an artificial bait or rigged for a live bait, as you never know when a cobia might show up.

Captain Randy Rochelle runs the “Gotta Go” out of St. Petersburg and can be reached at (727) 365-3218.