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Captain's Corner: Kingfish tournament time

 
Published Oct. 9, 2015

It's kingfish tournament time along the Suncoast and while there may not be a big bunch of fish here yet, it only takes one. History has a way of repeating itself when fishing for kings. Many tournaments over the years have been won in the same areas. I'll try and focus on spots where we've caught 40-pounders in the past. Catching 20 schoolies on tournament day might be entertaining but not too productive on the leaderboard. Sure, there's exceptions to the rule. I've seen monsters plucked out of a batch of schoolies but not often. Bait has much to do with it. You'll not catch many 10-pound kingfish while dragging ladyfish, mullet, mackerel or big blue runners. This weekend tournament anglers will be pushing the 30-mile offshore limit some organizers have placed on their event to level the playing field between single-engine boats and those with "trips'' and "quads.'' Others will be hugging the beach looking for that loner that's there to prey on schools of juvenile mackerel. Ordinarily there would be some anglers venturing well inside Tampa Bay looking for a "hawg". It remains to be seen however if the salinity count has returned to the kingfish's liking after all the rain dumped into the bay. Wherever you go, choose a spot where a kingfish has a reason to be. We'll grind it out all day in an area we've previously caught big fish if the water is relatively clean and has a good bait supply. One of two things will happen: It will either pay off or make you question your sanity.

Jay Mastry charters Jaybird out of St. Petersburg. Call (727) 321-2142.