so ive discovered the addiction of chasing schools of baitfish near shore and so far have caught sharks and catfish and watched tons of tarpon crashing around. granted im paddling around near the beach with a kayak, but if i were to cast say gotcha plugs or smaller lures would i be likely to catch spanish or similar fish or would the tarpon scare them all away? ive got nothing against catching sharks and ill probably target the silver torpedo some day, but catching a hand full of spanish while im at it sounds fun too.
Sure, you can catch spanish, bonitos, jacks and who knows what in the pogie schools. Spanish seem to target the glass minnow schools more than pogies. Use a silver Clark spoon, cast it as far as you can and reel it as fast as you can. Spanish like the bait to be fast moving. You could also troll a skirted ballyhoo behind you in the schools. Likely to catch a king or large spanish with that.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
ive tried trolling skirted menhaden and so far just sharks and sail cats landed, however i did watch a small cobia come up and steal a bait as i was reeling in to check it. ill have to try out the clark spoon too thanks!
Gotcha = Bluefish?.actually let me rephrase that, LOTS of bluefish. There are a few spanish around the menhaden schools as well but there are tons of bluefish and often kings too. Try free lining (or balloon) a large menhaden on 40lb flourocarbon and small piece of single strand bite leader. I have caught numerous kings this way when I had my smaller boat. Good luck
picked up a clark spoon while i was out and definitely noticed its really light. you supposed to put a weight in front of it to get more casting distance or keep it as is? i have no problem with chopper blues either (shark bait).
Yes, put an inline trout sinker like weight about 2 ounces, 3’ above it. The longer the better. Use a leader of 40 or 60 fluorocarbon or mono between sinker and spoon. Spanish are wire shy, you will get more bites without wire and the spoon usually keeps their teeth away from the leader. Usually.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
Clark spoon and weight works, as Larry said, or just opt for a heavier lure like a deadly dick or stingsilver. Also, again like Larry said, the Spanish are often keying on smaller bait so keep an eye out for flocks of gulls or terns instead of pelicans. However, Spanish will ravish the menhaden too, especially as we get later into the season. I like 30 or 40# flouro for them tied directly to your main line.
By the way, good to hear you are catching some gafftops. They’ve been hard to come by the last several years.
south georgia/north florida i have absolutely no problem finding them whether fishing inshore or at the beach. actually sail cats are one of the more prevalent bottom fish i catch around here and have caught them up to 20". paddled out to a pod over the weekend for a few minute break from the beach and got a small spinner shark in the process, but not near as many tarpon jumping this time.
quote:By golly, You Betcha. I got frustrated seeing spanish... but, catching blues. I spent some time working an area with different lures for a couple years. When the blues were hitting the small heavy Gotcha plugs, I would switch off to larger red/white Yo-Zuri lures and only catch spanish. A buddy would swear by the mini blue/silver rattle traps for spanish. I'm going to say red/white Yo-Zuri but, YOU will have to find what works for you. Best of luck. :wink:
Originally posted by OhioNavyNukeso ive discovered the addiction of chasing schools of baitfish near shore and so far have caught sharks and catfish and watched tons of tarpon crashing around. granted im paddling around near the beach with a kayak, but if i were to cast say gotcha plugs or smaller lures would i be likely to catch spanish or similar fish or would the tarpon scare them all away? ive got nothing against catching sharks and ill probably target the silver torpedo some day, but catching a hand full of spanish while im at it sounds fun too.
i have something similar to a big rattle trap thats red and white ill have to play with that, however i must admit that hearing the downrigger pop and 9/0 scream to reel in sharks is still a lot of fun. havent caught a king, jack crevalle, or landed a cobia yet but hopefully otta come soon on the trolling rig! dont get me wrong though i have absolutely no problem paddling out and having fun reeling up sharks either. if im catching stuff…im happy.