West Hot Spots

 Kayaks put the sneak on big fish.

Capt. Jack Hartman of Sarasota has the inside track on pompano fishing. "The fish will be in New and Big Passes as the tide begins to come in," he says. To find fish, Hartman recommends patrolling the sandbars outside the passes. "As you motor along, look behind you and watch for fish to skip in your wake. When you see this, turn around and start casting."

Hartman recommends jigging with chartreuse, white or yellow baits. "Just cast and keep the jig hopping," he explains. A few hours later, the fish move to what Hartman calls the  middle grounds of Sarasota Bay, a large area of seagrass and sandy potholes in 5 to 7 feet of water. "When I fish here, I switch to a 1/4-ounce gold fleck Cotee jig. The pompano are more spread out here, but you also have a chance to catch some trout and flounder."

Capt. Craig Whitaker of Fort Myers stalks tailing reds around the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River and lower  parts of Pine Island Sound. "We get a lot of good low tides at this time of year," he says. "I like to fish the lower end of  these tides."

Whitaker uses his pole to push his skiff across the flats and into one of the large sandy, and slightly deeper, potholes that dot the region. To find them, search at low tide.

"Often, reds will stack up in these holes," he advises. "Get out on the real low tides when it is much easier to see them. Then come back and hit these spots when the tide is right. I use a chunk of cut ladyfish or mullet and cast it past the hole; then I gently bring it back into the open area. If pinfish or mullet are around, there's a good chance that some reds will be there also."

Increasingly popular, kayaks offer a great way to access areas that don't see much pressure. Many people use powerboats to get kayaks close to hot spots without paddling for miles. Capt. Charles Wright of Everglades City runs a kayak-fishing operation in the Ten Thousand Islands.

"We are catching a lot of tarpon in the 15- to 20-pound range," Wright says. "What's nice about fishing from a kayak is the opportunity it affords you to get closer to the fish you want to catch. If you're stealthy, the fish are just a short cast away."

Wright advises anglers to use a little caution when fishing from kayaks. Don't get out of the kayak without testing the water depth and the bottom firmness.

"Don't get too excited, especially when the fish is at the boat and you're working to release it," he says. "The wrong move can cause you to roll the kayak. Always test the water depth and the consistency of the bottom before you get out. The water might only be a few feet deep, but the bottom may be muddy and you can sink in this mud up to your waist. The water on one side of the kayak may be six inches deep, but six feet deep on the other side."

DOCK TALK
Lessons learned about fishing come from many sources, but the ones most remembered come from special people. The lesson that Capt. Lee Blick of Tampa remembers most — how to catch sheepshead — is one he learned from a special person in his life, his grandfather.

"We used to fish around the Gandy Bridge pilings," he says. "My grandfather taught me that the trick to catching them is to hook them before they bite."

Sheepshead are legendary bait stealers, as any angler who ever tried to catch one can attest, so the concept of hooking them before they bite has merit. "When I say this," Blick explains, "I mean you drop a baited hook to the bottom and lift it just off the bottom. That's about when you should expect to feel the bite, and that's when you need to set your hook. It happens real quickly."

Blick adds that fiddler crabs, barnacles scraped off pilings and those pesky invasive green mussels all make good bait.

— Kris Thoemke, Regional Editor