Fishing Tips: Inspire Snook With Live Chum - 7/25/2009

Captains corner: Inspire the snook with live chum

Inshore: Snook are spread from upper Tampa Bay to the passes that lead to the gulf. Upper bay snook are feeding better than the beach snook. Fill a the live well with whitebait and sardines. Use half to live chum the school. Once they start popping the surface, cast free-lined baits into the action. Most of the redfish schools number 100 to 200 fish, but you can still find a school of 500 or more. The reds are feeding on live chum during the peak high tide. During lower tides, try cut baits of pinfish, threadfins, mullet and ladyfish.

Offshore: Most of the grouper action will start at a depth of 90 feet. Head deeper until you locate the fish. Good numbers of mackerel are hanging near reefs and wrecks. If you want light-tackle action, slow troll a live mackerel over the structure. Good numbers of barracuda are hanging over the structure. They are a poor food source, but they do jump and fight hard. This make them one of the best game fish to catch and release.

Doug Hemmer charters out of St. Petersburg and can be reached at (727) 347-1389.