Rain slows things down

By BILLY NOBLES
Posted July 03, 2009 by The Tampa Tribune

I wish I could tell you we slayed them this week, but you would know that I was lying. We had a ton of rain, but we needed it. However, there were reports of huge schools of redfish on Progress Village Drive.

I spoke to captain Tommy LaOrange, who reported that while grouper and snapper fishing last week he left out his line while changing locations. All of a sudden, he hears the drag screaming. He didn’t realize the line was out, and when they reeled it in, there was a 17-pound dolphin. He re-rigged and started trolling again, and he soon caught a 22-pounder. They were only 20 miles off Clearwater Beach.

As I’ve been telling you, the nearshore wrecks are loaded with snapper, grouper, scamp, kingfish, cobia and permit. You need to be ready, because anything can happen. For instance, a few years ago captain Larry McGuire was just 26 miles off Bradenton Beach and hooked up with a 350-pound blue marlin. He was able to do so because he had the proper tackle and was quick on his feet to hook up with the fish when the opportunity presented itself.

We just got back from Boca Grande, and we caught more fish this year than I have in the past 10. The fish were acting strange, and you couldn’t really see a pattern. What worked one day might not work the next, so you just had to figure it out on a day-to-day basis.

Snook are spawning in the bay, so remember to treat females with care (but it’s OK if they get a little exercise). The mangrove snapper bite should be on fire, as well as the juvenile tarpon.

Tarpon remain the king on the beaches. While snook fishing off the beach in Anna Maria, Gary Caccippo hooked a tarpon on a greenback on his snook outfit. Needless to say, he had to go home for more line.

Catch Billy Nobles and Mike Anderson on the “Reel Animals Fishing Show” on Saturdays from 6:30-7 a.m. and Sundays from 11-11:30 a.m. on WFLA, Channel 8, and on Sundays from 8-10 a.m. on 1040 AM. To book a charter, call 1-866-GAMEFISH or visit http://www.reelanimalsfishingshow.com.