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Run Deeper To Find A Hot Bite

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By RANDY ROCHELLE

Published: January 5, 2009

For you shallow water anglers, it looks as if the bite has slowed.

The grouper bite inside of 60 feet has come to a crawl, while the bite just a bit deeper has been steadily getting better.
For gags from Clearwater south the bite has been good in 70 to 90 feet. You will also find some decent red grouper mixed in around this same depth. North of Clearwater the gag grouper bite has been very good in 60 to 80 feet.

A recent trip out to 140 to 150 feet range produced a good mixed box of gag, red and scamp grouper as well as a very mangrove snapper. Wrecks in this same depth have been loaded with hungry 15- to 30-pound amberjack.

As we would bring one boat side the school would follow the hooked fish right to the surface. We then would toss out a free lined live bait and watch as the school of jacks pounced on helpless bait.

For those planning a trip out to the Middle Grounds you will find a good mix of red and gag grouper along with some quality mangrove snapper.

Red snapper continue to be a big problem as just about everywhere you go outside of the 70-foot mark you are bound to run into them. As you run further west you'll find they get bigger and more numerous.

Remember that as of Jan. 1 the new grouper regulation went into effect. These new changes apply to both Federal and State waters.

Captain Randy Rochelle runs the "Gotta Go" out of St. Petersburg and can be reached at (727) 365-3218 or go to www.islandercharters.net.

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