Reports of giant mangrove

Great fishing: As we fish during this heated month, reports of giant mangrove snapper are plentiful. In a few weeks, the full moon phase will be a great time to target these tasty fish. They are preparing for their annual spawn, which will take place then. Their appetites are huge during this cycle, so you can catch a decent number. Otherwise, they can be quite tricky to hook. Our best success with any type of snapper is to let them take the bait for a few seconds. As the fish nips at the bait, it will eventually grab the hook for a second or two. Many anglers will jerk the rod or start reeling prematurely, resulting in an empty hook.

Summer kings: Numerous large kings can be caught this month at 80 feet and deeper.

What's ahead: Next month should bring a few gag grouper our way if it's anything like last year. We are already starting to see a few keepers moving into depths of 80 feet. That's where it all began last year. Both dead and live baits work well. However, a frisky pinfish isn't always their first choice as many anglers might believe. We often deploy a fillet of bonito or chunk of octopus with great results. The only problem during the summer is that dead baits attract sharks, which have chased us off many good grouper bites. Most sharks in 80 feet are about 4 feet long, just big enough to tangle lines at the bottom because they will swim in circles.

-- Dave Mistretta

Redfish starting to school

What's hot: Redfish are starting to school in large numbers. During most of the summer, schools have held 25 to 50 redfish. These smaller schools are joining ranks and making pods that hold 200 to 300 fish. They are moving close to the mangrove shoreline during the incoming tide. During the peak of high tide most of the reds will move under the mangroves. This is when it gets difficult to locate the school. You will need to use your trolling motor on low or a push pole and travel just outside the mangroves. Look under the branches for long dark shadows. When you locate the school, anchor the boat a little farther from the mangroves and cast your bait where there are openings in the branches. A corked rig will help you know where your bait is and give you a chance at pulling it away from the branches before the bait gets snagged.

Captain's tip: When fishing for redfish, keep your eyes peeled for snook. Large numbers of snook have moved off the beach. Normally they start to leave the beach area in September, but this year they've started the push early. Mangrove islands, bridges and docks inside area passes are holding unusually large numbers of big snook. Threadfins and pinfish remain the bait of choice. Free-line your bait upcurrent and let it drift back to the school. If you locate a good spot for snook, fish during a strong tide. Remember the tide and bait they fed best on so you can fish that area when snook season opens Sept. 1.

-- Doug Hemmer

Watch for mahi-mahi offshore

What's hot: August and September are the best months to watch for schools of mahi-mahi offshore. It is difficult to target them unless you are offshore in the 100-mile range trolling high-speed lures. At 80- to 100-foot depths they are small but numerous. Every piece of floating debris should be carefully checked to see if they are present. Whether they are or not, pick it up and dispose of it onshore.

Sunday we checked out a bright red floating gas tank in 80 feet that two other boats ran by and ignored. As soon as we pulled up we saw the "chicken" dolphin milling around under it.

Tactics: Being prepared is the key to catching these hard fighting, brilliantly colored fish. Ten- to 12-pound spinning tackle that we use to catch bait is changed to a 2/0 single long shanked gold hook, which will often trigger a strike by itself when the bait has been stripped off, tied directly to the line without a leader. A pair of scissors is used to cut frozen sardines into slivers to use for chum and baiting the hooks. Large pieces of chum will quickly fill up these fish if the school is small. It is easy to catch more than needed in the excitement of seeing the fish striking the bait right next to the boat. Only take what can be used and leave some to reside on the next piece of material or patch of grass they find.

Dave Zalewski charters the Lucky Too out of Madeira Beach. Call (727) 397-8815.

Success stories

What's hot: Just about anything you want to catch is red hot. Reports up and down our coast are full of success stories. Fishing in 90 feet is producing American red snapper, mangrove snapper, red and gag grouper and a few nice scamp. We have been spending most of our time way offshore. But we decided to shorten our trips and have been able to catch all the bottom fish we wanted.

Bait: Live bait has produced our biggest fish, but the yellow fin snapper and scamp have been hitting squid. We still start all of our stops with dead Spanish sardines then move to live bait. During our last trip, we found that as we dropped down our dead baits, small sharks and, yes, kingfish were picking up our offerings. We moved to steel leaders and were able to land a reef shark and one kingfish.

Tactics: Start your trip in 85 feet when bottom fishing and work out to 130 feet. The federal grouper limit of one per person can come quickly, so plan on catching multiple species to make a full day worth your efforts.

-- Larry Hoffman

Spearfishing tournament

What's hot: The 42nd annual St. Pete Open, "the world's largest spearfishing tournament," is scheduled for Aug. 17-19 at the Holiday Inn SunSpree in St. Petersburg. Tournament records are impressive: grouper, 111.5 pounds, Gary Zumwalt, 1991; hogfish, 21.2 pounds, James Zellmer, 2001; amberjack, 94.9 pounds, Rick Hampton, 2006; snapper, 55.4 pounds, Ken Jones, 2004; lobster, 12.3 pounds, Scott Willner, 1992; sheepshead, 11.64, pounds, Ritchie Zacker, 2006; triggerfish, 10.4 pounds, Bob Elser Sr., 1997.

To participate: Get a registration and waiver form at www.stpeteopen. com. Many divers are under the mistaken impression this is a tournament just for those who have long-range boats. There are three categories, however, that can be won in shallow waters: Big lobsters, sheepshead and cobia can all be harvested from the bays, ledges and wrecks in depths less than 50 feet. Also, there are special division trophies for women, juniors and free diver.

Be a spectator: The best time to join the fun, see the divers' catches and pick up a T-shirt is 6-10 p.m. Saturday.

Bill Hardman teaches scuba, spearfishing and free diving through Aquatic Obsessions Scuba in St. Petersburg. Call 727 344-3483 or e-mail

For">bill@aodive.com.

Summer good for snapper fishing

What's hot: Summertime snapper fishing has been just about as good as it can get. Start in depths of 60 to 90 feet of water for consistent catches of mangrove snapper in the 3- to 5-pound range. While wrecks and reefs hold these fish, the smaller ledges and rock piles consistently hold more and larger snapper.

There aren't too many yellowtail snapper in our area so they are seldom targeted. But if you concentrate on the high-relief areas in deep-water spots such as the Florida Elbow or the Middle Grounds, you will find plenty.

Red snapper is one of the larger snapper in our area. We have been finding large schools in depths of 140 to 210 feet of water. These fish inhabit many different areas. I have caught them on just about every type of bottom, including wrecks, ledges and just plain hard bottom with no features whatsoever.

Tips: Snapper, known for their keen eyesight and sense of smell, are wary and will refuse any presentation that looks suspicious. I have had a large school of mangrove snapper feeding on our chum right behind the boat and they would not eat anything we offered while using heavy gear. As soon as we switched to our bait rods spooled with 12-pound test and a 6-inch section of 20-pound fluorocarbon leader, we started catching fish every drop.

Tactics: This type of light-tackle fishing depends on the right conditions and presentation. Anchoring uptide of your spot and chumming is crucial. We usually deploy at least two chum blocks and a few handfuls of sardines cut into small pieces. Chumming in this manner gets these fish off the bottom so a free-lined bait will work well.

Fishing on the edge

What's hot: With the warmer weather, most inshore species will seek deeper water or shaded shorelines for relief. Key areas to look include edges and dropoffs with a good current. This constant flow will help cool the water and keep a constant source of nutrition for lazy feeders. Snook are most known for hugging bottom structures and waiting for easy meals to pass by. These linesiders will use the strong push of water to trap baitfish against a sandbar or rocky ledge. Often times, a dead bait rigged with a small split shot rolling along the bottom will get picked up. For live bait, a nose-hooked greenback with a weight at the hook will keep the sardines in the strike zone longer as it drags with the current down the edge. Popping the rod tip every 10 seconds also will catch the attention of nearby predators. The biggest mistake anglers make is overfeeding snook. A couple of chummers tossed into a current rip will detect the fish. This will draw interest and allow a proper presentation.

Tactics: To beat the heat, anglers willing to get out of the boat will find fish a lot less spooky and willing to bite. A trolling bait bucket is all that is needed. Walking along the beach edge and casting parallel to the shore will increase the bite ratio because snook and redfish will not feel the presence of a boat nearby.

Jim Huddleston charters out of Tampa, Palm Harbor and Clearwater and can be reached at 727 439-9017 or at jim @captainhud.com.

Tips for Snapper Fishing

The summer season is here! Anglers are wiping sweat from their brows while fishing remains constant in Tampa Bay. Fishing techniques can be altered to adapt to the conditions. Early starts and deep-structure fishing will equal success. What's hot: Mangrove snapper fishing is on the upswing in Tampa Bay. Almost any place that has structure, whether it's a bridge or jetty or just about anything that is solid, is ideal "mang" habitat. Snapper are tricky to capture. They have a knack for stealing bait, and they seem especially angry about their predicament during a battle. Tips: Snapper have keen eyesight. Therefore, the use of the thinnest leader material that conditions allow is best. A fairly snug drag setting is advised. It's a good idea to bring plenty of bait when fishing for the tasty tricksters. Tactics: The water temperature in Tampa Bay has risen well into the 80s. On recent trips, the bottom machine has been a useful tool for finding concentrations of fish. There are numerous features on the bottom of the bay that attract and hold a wide variety of species. These areas typically do not get much fishing pressure and therefore can be "hot spots" for a large part of the year. Early starts and deep water are essential for consistent success as summer gets into full swing. Captain Dave Walker charters out of Tampa and can be reached at (813) 310-6531 or at www.snookfish.com

Snapper Fishing is heating up

What's hot: Snapper fishing in 70 to 120 feet has been excellent. Red and mangrove snapper have taken residence on almost every limestone relief in these depths and have been the focus on most trips. Tactics: On a recent trip offshore we were in 125 feet of water, anchored above a small ledge. The first rod went over the side with four sardines on the hook. As soon as the lead hit the bottom we set the hook, which let the sardines off and left them sitting on the bottom below the boat. This technique had the snapper in a frenzy in a matter of minutes, and assisted in catching mangroves in the 3- to 5-pound class on the first couple of drops. When the bite slowed we switched to live bait consisting of small-tail hooked squirrelfish and pinfish. The switch produced a few more snapper, then we were off to the next spot. Chumming for bottom fish is a proven system, but having your chum cover the entire water column is key. Tackle: A smaller outfit in the 20- to 30-pound class, with a semi-high retrieve conventional or spinning reel, will take care of all snapper-catching needs. Terminal tackle should consist of a 3- to 5-foot fluorocarbon leader and a 5/0 hook. Lead should be on the smaller side, as most of the large snapper will feed high in the water column. This will make the bait fall slowly through the strike zone and will increase the chance of catching larger fish.

--Steve Papen

Best tarpon fishing in a few years

What's hot: Tarpon continues to be my main target. Last week was the best tarpon fishing I have had in a few years. The normal summer weather pattern, with east winds in the morning, made fishing easy. With an offshore wind, you can anchor on the first sandbar right off the beach, and have the sun at your back. When a fish rolls, that sun will hit the side and make that huge silver body easier to spot. Even if you spot fish further off the beach, an east wind will allow you to move quickly to get into place and cast in front of the fish. All of my success was off of two bay area beaches.

Bait: Small crabs had the most success at getting bites. These can be hard to find at local bait and tackle shops, so I would keep a bait bucket off of a friend's dock to make sure I would have crabs every day. I like to use three crabs: blue, pass and calico. "Pass crabs" are pink with purple claws, calico are brown with red claws, and blues are the biggest of all three. I take the claws off the blue crabs, and leave the claws on the pass and calico crabs.

Great experience: Mark Sosin asked if we could shoot a show for next season. We hooked a tarpon every day we filmed. I got to watch a legend fight tarpon on light tackle spinning gear; 16-pound mono with 60-pound flourocarbon leader was all he used. We landed one of four fish we hooked, and storms made us break off a fish so we could get to shelter.

-- Rob Gorta