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Hot month on South Shore waters

Photo by FRED EVERSON

Jeremy Johnigean recently caught and released this snook on a piece of cut bait in front of Big Pass.

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By FRED EVERSON

Tribune columnist

Published: July 6, 2009

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Fred Everson

June proved to be a good month for fishing. After a wet and windy May, things dried up, the wind calmed down and the water temperature rose. All this combined to make for hot fishing on a variety of species.

Perhaps the best bite belonged to the normally diminutive mangrove snapper. We tend to think of snapper in terms of saltwater panfish.

However, the fish we've been catching in recent weeks have been mostly between 17 and 22 inches. We are finding them under the buoys marking the ship channels in the middle of the bay and have caught them on scaled sardines.

Speaking of sardines, they were still on the flats south of the Little Manatee River a week ago, and that's unusually late for them to be here. In a normal year, they head for deeper water after spawning on the flats and generally depart around the end of May — but not this year.

The bait has been so thick that you seldom had to chum it. The only negative has been water clarity. It was cloudy on the flats due to recent rains.

The catch-and-release snook bite has been steady. I fished around Big Pass last week on a strong falling tide, and we hooked a couple of good fish on chunks of threadfin herring. As I tried to pull it out of the mangrove roots, I also got busted off by a good fish.

Spanish mackerel are being caught all over the bay. I like to get after them at daybreak and simply look for the birds. Here, a good pair of binoculars will help. I run out to the middle of the bay and glass the horizon 360 degrees. When you see birds diving at first light, the fish will usually bite.

I like shiny chrome lures for this work, rigged on 60-pound monofilament leaders. And any time I go mackerel fishing, I always have a cooler filled with plenty of ice. These fish are good to eat so long as you keep them on ice and trim the brown stuff off the filets.

I also caught two bluefish on a recent trip and made fishcakes with them. Again, so long as you keep the fish on ice and cut away the dark colored flesh, they are good to eat.

The fishcakes were especially savory. I put the filets in boiling water seasoned with a tablespoon of blackening seasoning, turned the heat off, and let them sit for four minutes. Pour the water off in a colander and flake the fish with a fork. Add a cup of breadcrumbs, some sautéed celery, green pepper and onion, an egg and a half cup of mayo. Mix thoroughly, shape into cakes, pan-fry for a couple of minutes on each side, and then finish them off in a 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes. This recipe works well with any fish and great for mackerel, blue fish or kingfish.

Fred Everson is an outdoor writer and Ruskin-based fishing guide. All South Shore fishermen and guides may submit information and photographs to be included in this column by calling (813) 830-8890 or sending an e-mail to ihuntsnook@aol.com.

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