Tough Grouper bite

Fishing in the middle of the day, especially the day after a full moon, can be a challenge. I don't know how the rest of the charter fishing fleet did on Saturday, but we could not buy a keeper-sized grouper that day. The grey snapper a.k.a. grunt were on fire though! These tasty little fighters are almost always a sure thing if you are just looking for some light tackle fun...without the sore arms and back!

We left St.Pete Beach at about 11 a.m. to a beautiful Gulf of Mexico. The weather this past week has been nothing but perfect. Air temps in the mid 70's and water temps in the mid 60's. You can almost hear the Kingfish and mackerel ripping their way from the South. Actually, the word is that Kingfish are being caught in the Naples and Ft.Meyers area right now. Anyway, we did spot lots of fry bait and plenty of birds working the waters in the afternoon but our target was bottom fish. The grouper bite was very slow and only a few small Red and Gag grouper were caught on the rods we use for these bigger fish. Switching over to lighter gear was the key, and before long we were filling the box with snappers and getting broken off by the bigger fish!

Although no big fish were brought in that day, our new freinds Joe Klaja, from Pittsburg and his brother-in-law Tom Bracken had a blast. These guys also caught enough fish to keep the cleaning table busy for quite awhile. Check out the pile of fish we went home with(above pic).

Spring break is almost here....don't wait until the last minute to book your next offshore adventure with the Jawbreaker! Call today and get in on the fun! Happy fishing to Ya, Capt.Dan