Blue runners and scattered reports of large kingfish along the beach are sure signs the spring kingfish run is about to start.
Along the beaches of southern Pinellas County you can find large stacks of pinfish, blue runners, whitebait and cigar minnows. Offshore around the buoys of the shipping channel, you can find the same with large schools of Spanish sardines thrown in.
The wind the past several days, expected to continue through Monday, has limited the ability to get offshore for amberjack, tuna or grouper.
Before the wind started, the offshore bite was spotty because of a large high-pressure system combined with a new moon. The fish were easy to find in 40 feet out to 180 feet but were not motivated to eat. That should change when the wind lays down so anglers can get offshore.
There are numerous shrimp boats working offshore of John's Pass and Pass-a-Grille, staying between 30 and 35 miles west. There have been a few fish caught off each boat in the mornings, but the large push of fish appears to be south of us.
Amberjack have been difficult to catch the past 10 days. They have not been aggressively feeding, even on blue runners. By downsizing to 40-pound fluorocarbon leaders and pinfish we have caught fish in the 20- to 25-pound range, and the larger AJ have moved offshore to spawn. They should return to depths of 150 feet after the full moon in April, and the fish should get larger through the summer.
Catches of mangrove and yellowtail snapper have been decent in 85 to 130 feet. The yellowtail bite will improve as water temperatures continue to rise. These snappers are found together and can be chummed to the surface and caught on light spinning tackle.
