By Seth Leto, Times Correspondent
Friday, April 8, 2011
What's hot: One often overlooked species of fish to target is the triple tail. These fish can be found just below the surface, close to floating objects such as crab trap buoys and debris. Stone crab season is open for about another month, which means there are thousands of floating buoys that might hold one of these unusual-looking but tasty fish. These prehistoric-looking fish are covered with tough skin and scales, which makes them fairly difficult to clean. Most of the fish in the Pinellas area are in the 5- to 10-pound class, but occasionally bigger ones are caught.
Tactics: Fishing for triple tail is, for the most part, done by sight-fishing. As you pass by a floating object, look for the triple tail to be suspended just below it. Once a fish is located, either get on the trolling motor or set up a drift to pass within casting distance of the object. Small crustaceans are the triple tail's primary food source, so a shrimp suspended under a float is my top choice for bait. Triple tail also feed on small baitfish, so a small pinfish or scaled sardine will work, too.
Tackle: Triple tail have small mouths, so I like a No. 1 or 1/O circle hook tied to a small piece of 15- to 20-pound leader. This rig suspended under a float should get the job done.
Seth Leto charters out of Tarpon Springs and can be reached at capt.seth@yahoo.com or (727) 385-0382.
