Ok you
want to know about shallow water grouper fishing well here we go. Let me tell
you how I go about it and maybe you can adopt your techniques to improve your
chances in catching these fine fish. I have been telling people, while doing
fishing seminars I catch shallow water grouper in as little as four foot of
water and they look at me like I have been telling fish stories too long. Along
the Nature Coast of Florida is about the best shallow water grouper fishing in
the state. We average about one foot of water a mile in depth of water. The gulf
here is made up of shelves that has lots of coral and limestone rocks,
artificial reefs and caves, oh yea don’t forget the natural springs. Tarpon
springs have rolling hills and the more north you go towards
Let’s
take a typical day from the pages of my fishing charters. We arrive at the boat
ramp and promptly take inventory. I always check to make sure my gasoline tank
is full and because I run twin Mercury motors, I never leave the ramp without
checking to make sure my two stroke oil tank is full and a spare gallon of oil
is onboard. Making sure that the boat is ready to go we leave the
Providing the wind is not too high I can usually see the structure I am about to fish. I stop the boat to see which direction the tide is moving, a note here is do not be fooled by wave directions you want your chum to float over the rocks, remember the wind and tides do not always run in the same directions. Do not run your boat over the shallow water structure, if you do just go to your next spot. Yes there is some work in shallow water grouper fishing but once you have your g.p.s. numbers and a good idea what to do things just fall into place. After a while you will automatically set up your boat in the proper locations. Ok you say what if I mess up and I say so what, the fun is in the learning as well as in the catching, remember the catching is only the bonus for a great day on the water. Now that we are anchored up we now need to (chum) the waters. Different times of the year determine what is used for chum. Ah! What is chum? This has many definitions and I might just mention a few. Everything I mention is what I use and if you ask any fisherman you might get different opinions. Winter I use ground fish, Spring I use chopped sardines, Summer I use live white bait, Fall I use cut bait. Now lets get to the fishing. A few methods of fishing the shallow water rocks are as follows. The most productive of all is um, hum, err you guessed it any one that will catch fish. Here is a few of my favorites. Casting Plugs, casting jigs and plastic baits, casting live bait, casting dead frozen sardines, Casting Tough-E-Nuff processed squid on a gold spoon and last but not least a fly. Yes I said a fly! I discovered this type of fishing while fishing for Tarpon one spring day. I caught a Trout, Redfish and a keeper grouper on the fly I was using for Tarpon. No I didn’t catch a Tarpon that day, but had a wonderful time despite the Tarpon not cooperating. If I visit a few rocks that do not hold any fish, I then drift. I usually cast with the wind on my back in the water depth of four foot or less but in twelve or more feet of water, either side of the boat will produce fish. Another thing to look for when you’re drifting is to make sure your drifting. On occasions I have had the boat not move as the tide was running one way and the wind was opposing the boat in the opposite direction, making the boat actually not moving. If you have a trolling motor you can use it to form an artificial drift. When you finish the day a good fisherman will document the day recording all that happened that day like water temperature, wind speed, tides and the time of day you fish as well as any success you had and locations.
Good Luck and tight lines:
Captain Frank Bourgeois
352-666-6234
Tidal Water Fishing West Coast Florida
by Captain Frank Bourgeois
Bass Fishing has taking a big jump from the conventional little back pond image. Lets look just a little in our past to see the future. We see Bass pictures with large strings, of fish, hanging on boards. Today we see large catch and release tournaments. We have a lot of pressure going toward lakes, and rivers. Fishermen are now turning toward fishing tidal waters as an area not pressured as much. For years fishermen would launch their boats in the fresh water rivers, and head for the salt water. One of the reasons for this was to allow them to flush their motors, after a day on the salt water. In my area, I have found more and more fishermen, are not heading for the Gulf, but in fact fishing for Bass. One of the neatest things I ever saw was in Crystal River Florida, when I looked into the water and saw a Bass about five lb. just below the Bass, were two salt water crabs, crawling under the fish.
Something you need to think about is a Florida License. If you are fishing for Bass (in tidal water area’s) you could be also fishing in an area that supports Red fish or Snook. I asked about licenses and was told," if you have the capabilities of catching fresh water fish you need a fresh water license and if you have the capabilities of catching salt water fish you need a salt water license”. To me that is a fine line or as they say “you are walking on thin ice”. I guess to be safe you need both licenses, so use good judgment.
Places were I fish tidal waters the most, are, Crystal River, Homosassa River, Chassahowitzka River and the Weeki Wachee River. All these places require light line and long cast. “WHY?” you ask? Well the water is so clear; it is like fishing in a swimming pool. In many cases, fishermen learn how to fish different styles of baits due to the clarity of the water. If nothing else, you can learn a lot about lure presentation. Take this information to the cloudy waters of some of the hot lakes and you might clean house the next time you go fishing.
I use med-hvy weight rods, and strong reels, (one will never know what will bite). Loomis makes a good rod for the job. I use a Loomis rod and a Calcutta reels. Add Team-fish and most of the fishing will become catching. I like using for top water, Salt-Water Assassins or Bass Assassins jerk baits, Rapala's or buzz baits. I also use and catch salt water and fresh water fish on spinner baits. For crank baits I like Cisco kid and Rat l traps. Bass Assassin puts out a line of baits that don’t care where they are. Most of their line will bring in a trophy while fishing either salt water or freshwater. Love’s lures also will do a great job for you in the tidal waters. There are so many great lures, lines, rods and reels; I could talk about them forever. (You know I am a fishing nut) When everything else fails use a product that you have confidence in.
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