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Hi Frank, I was out a couple of weeks ago and did pretty well off Clearwater with the Kings. I was hoping to get some Spanish Mackerel as well, but didn’t catch anything else but Kings, so I guess they pretty much scare everything off when they are in the area. My question: Where could we expect to find the best Spanish Mackerel fishing in and around Tampa Bay this time of year?  Thanks, Al

Al: There are plenty of Spanish well up inside Tampa Bay. Check out the spoil islands around the Port Manatee Channel, or the long bar off the southwest end of Picnic Island/Beer Can island for a start. Another famous spot for Spanish is the edge of the deep grass north of Anclote Key, out where the grass turns to “salt and pepper,” sort of scattered, in about 8 to 12 feet. There are likely to be Spanish around all the channel markers in Tampa Bay at present, too. Tight lines, FS

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Hi Frank,
What would be the best way to rig up for sheepshead? There’s a pass that I’ve seen some five pounders in and would like a good chance at them. I know they like shrimp but don’t know they best way to rig for the bait stealers. Any advice would be much appreciative.

Best bet is to keep the weight to a minimum--that way you feel the bite immediately. Use a length of 20 to 25 pound test clear mono as leader. Tie on a 1/0 short shank hook. Just above the leader, pinch on a couple of large split shot, just enough to cast and to sink your bait, depending on current. Use a section of fresh shrimp, not a whole shrimp. You’ll do best with a piece about 1 to 2 inches long threaded on the hook; this helps the sheepshead to ingest it rather than forcing them to nip off pieces. They also readily take fiddler crabs, green mussels and tube worms, if you can find any of those baits. Best tactic is to chum a bit with crushed oysters or barnacles—you can often find these on rocks and pilings near the fishing area. Tight lines. FS

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Q: Hi Frank,

Took the day off this last Tuesday to be with my wife on her birthday and to enjoy the beautiful water of Tampa Bay. Had a couple with us who had never been to Florida before and had never caught a saltwater fish. Well the birds pointed to the fish and needless to say that Ohio couple will be being back some fine memories of a fish called Spanish mackerel. We took only what we could use, but that’s where my question comes in. Frank, could you recommend a simple recipe, grilling tips, marinades, etc. for these macks? We iced them down quickly and fileted promptly, but besides smoking them I could use some help.

Many thanks. Keep up the great work!

John

A: Best I’ve found is first to remove the skin and cut away the rib cage to get rid of bones. Also cut out the ‘’red line’’ from the back of the filets with a thin knife - this stuff has a strong taste. One of the better recipes I’ve found is simply to smother the filets in mayonnaise and grill. Robert Thomas of Thonotosassa goes this process one better; he tells me if you put the filets under a hot broiler and cook until nearly done, then add the mayo and broil until it just starts to brown, you have a super dish. Enjoy. FS

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Q: Frank,

I’m going to Cozumel in June and have hired a guide to do some flats fishing.  The main species being targeted is bonefish.  We’re hoping that we can get on some small tarpon and permit also.

We are not fly fisherman and will be using spinning gear.  Can you recommend some lures and colors for us to take along? 

Thanks for any tips you can pass along. 

I hope your spring fishing has been productive.  We’ve been finding plenty of reds along the south shore and there are lots of small to medium sized snook moving about.  Cockroach Bay

Thanks again.

Jay

A: Jay: Any sort of little skimmer jig, 1/8 to 1/4 ounce, is likely to work for bonefish. Whites, pinks and golds seem to be favored colors. Little tarpon, just about any lure, but a small topwater is the most fun--7m or 5 m Mirrolure, among others. Permit are a tough nut on any artificial, though they occasionally take a small dark jig. Overall, most folks down in the tropics fish hermit crabs for the permit, and these also work for bonefish, as does fresh shrimp or a piece of conch. Tight lines, FS

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Q: Mr. Sargeant: I need to know again the size and what are keepers of Striped Bass, went to Edward Medard yesterday with our Pastor and he caught the biggest Striper I have seen in years it must have weighted at least 10 pounds, it wasn’t a Sunshine Bass as the stripes were not broken, looked exactly like a salt water Striper, we let it go as was not sure of the size for keepers, also wonder as they are said not to reproduce why the size
limit? This fish when it hit kept going breaking his line, later we saw a bobber moving around and got the fish. Thanks again.—George (ol bear) Henson, Plant City

A: George: That’s a heck of a fish, but it probably was a sunshine hybrid with some odd striping--they say they have never put any full-blood stripers into Medard. The sunshine’s do get that big--I think the record is something like 18 pounds. Anyway, the rule is 20 sunshines, stripers or white bass, no minimum size, but no more than 6 per day over 24 inches. The latter rule is to keep down harvest of the true stripers, as I understand it. By the way,
in future, you can find any of the FWC regulations by going to their website, www.myFWC.com. Tight lines. FS

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Frank: Read your article concerning bonefish and their travels. I so well remember one caught in a net in Fillman Bayou by Bill Grant and Roy Hudson. They brought it to the fish house in Hudson and no one knew what it was. Jack Knowles, who was born and raised in the Bahamas, told Roy and Bill what they had. Another fish that is caught in the tide of Fillman Bayou is a leather jack that is well north of its range. This fish is very painful if the fins stick you, like a Sea Robin. Leather jacks were caught in nets frequently in and around the reef in Fillman Bayou. Over in Indian Bay the fishermen used to catch a sturgeon, that fish is well south of his range unless Hammock Creek was used by the sturgeon. Enough smoke rings. I’m out. Paul A. Hatcher, New Port Richey

A: Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Leather jacks also show up in the major passes of Tampa Bay, by the way - lots of them, at times, on the tide rips. And regarding sturgeon, the history books tell us that Tampa Bay and its feeder rivers used to be a major spawning area for Gulf sturgeon, though they were fished to extinction in the early 1900s. Best, FS

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Q: Frank, I just read your online article about the proposed rules for measuring fish and am very glad the feds have come up with a simpler universal way of measuring fish. The problem you highlighted about snook is a cause for worry. My suggestion is to raise the lower size limit UP. Go ahead and review all the size limits of all gamefish and adjust them accordingly. The longest way to measure the fish, pinched tails, should be standard operating procedure. The old axiom of KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) should definitely come into play. If we go to this method of measuring, and then the confusion will be eliminated. Being a guide in Anna Maria, I still have to buy a new law stick every year and I carry a copy of the Florida Recreational Saltwater Fishing Regulations on board for reference. Thank You. Capt. Mark Howard, Sumotime Fishing Charters

A: Sounds like a plan. Let’s hope the FWCC sees the logic of it when they take this issue up later this spring. FS

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Q: Frank, when is your Outdoors show? Where did you buy your SeaPro? And I have a group of four businessmen who would like to go on a one-day Gulf trip out of John’s Pass. Kings or grouper or split the day with both. Thank you.—Wes Jeffries

A: The Outdoors Show is this weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Trib will run its annual Expo Brochure on Thursday with all the details. Regarding my SeaPro, I bought it at Alafia Marine. Great boat and they have treated me right. 

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Q:What is your best guess as to what the water temperature is optimal for mackerel and when this may occur at the skyway pier this spring?—Richard Flammer

A: It’s getting close right now - 68 to 70 degrees is usually prime time. However, St. Patrick’s Day - March 17 - is the traditional time when you can be sure both Spanish and kings will be around. FS

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Just wanted to pass along an interesting response to my column from Feb. 5 (Pens On Flats Inspire Curiosity From Fishermen). If you have any comments/feedback, please feel free to comment below.

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The state’s snook symposium is scheduled for early February in St. Petersburg. I’ll be one of the panelists designated to present the views of anglers on what, if anything, needs to be done to improve the snook fishery. I’d like to hear from you; is snook fishing today better or worse than it was five years ago? Why, in your opinion, in either case? Are there more big snook today than before the 1 fish limit was put in place on the West Coast? Do you think the 34 inch maximum size limit is useful? Is the snook slot too restrictive? Not restrictive enough? Do you think poaching is an issue in snook populations? Let me hear your thoughts, and I’ll present as many as possible at the symposium. Frank Sargeant

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Q: Do we use a cork for the saltwater?
A: Depends. In water 2 to 4 feet deep, a cork can sometimes be useful to help keep a bait out of grass or as a popping attraction. They also help you keep track of where your bait or lure is, and work as a strike indicator, of course. However, they do make casting more difficult. I rarely use them, but many good anglers do. Cheers, FS

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A new snook symposium is set for early February, and one of the regulations sure to be reviewed is the one-per-day limit on West Coast snook. In your experience, has the tighter limit been effective at keeping more and larger snook in our waters? (Personally, I think it has had a good impact, with a lot more anglers reporting fish in the 30-inch range and up the last few years.)

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Q: Hello Frank, I travel to Tampa every other month and would like to know where I could take a fly rod and wade fish (no boat) for reds, snook, jacks, whatever. Can you advise? - Steve Pfaffengut, Arlington, Texas

A: I’d try Fort DeSoto Park, just west of the Skyway. Stop in at the headquarters office at the entry and they will happily show you an aerial photo of all the waters there and point out good wade fishing areas - it’s a great spot with multiple good flats.

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Whether they fish fresh water or salt, most anglers have a “go-to” lure, a favorite that they fish 90 percent of the time, year in and year out. What’s your favorite lure, and how do you fish it? Why is it better than other lures. Are there any lures that you hate? 

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