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These dead baits also get the smaller bottom dwellers going. Catching a few grunts, triggerfish and seabass creates a natural chumslick as the fish peck away at your big dead baits.

This beefy gag struck just one mile off Anclote Key. North-to-south ledges, some rising only a few feet off teh bottom, hold fish here.

In fact, employing a bucketful of sardines as grouper chum can do wonders for your shallow-water catches. A wire chum cage stuffed with diced 'dines and lowered to the bottom can often turn a dead rock into a grouper free-for-all.

When the fish are cold and lethargic, they often take up to 20 or 30 minutes to bite. I've sat on spots when the water was 58 degrees that I knew were holding grouper but they wouldn't bite. Thirty minutes, a little chumming and a dead sardine on a light leader (40- or 50-pound test) and sinker (1/2- to 1-ounce) and the bite begins. Even then it's often so subtle it's almost undetectable. It may feel like a snag and it's not until you start pulling that the fish starts to swim away. It pays to pay close attention to your bait without banging your sinker on the bottom. I can't tell you how many fish I've seen caught by anglers who never felt the bite. They just started reeling up to check their bait and lo and behold, there's a grouper on the other end.

Most of the time, feeling the bite isn't the problem. It's what to do when you hook the monster in the skinny stuff that can get tricky. He doesn't act quite the same as he does in 80 or 100 feet. He makes runs, pulls you all over the boat, even jumps. There's something about catching 12-pound grouper in 20 feet of water that hits you like few other angling phenomena. As far as I'm concerned it's right up there with shoal-side tarpon, tailing redfish and a trio of slash-happy sailfish working a ballyhoo teaser in the propwash. The thrill doesn't last long (funny how those short thrills are always the best) but it leaves an impression on you that can make or break your entire day.

At least until the next bite anyways.

It starts with the moment you first feel your pinfish getting jumpy. I like to lower my rodtip slightly and position the rod butt tight to my front hip (you'll love your butt caps and rod belts after a few days of this). My left hand slides up the foam grip with my thumb lightly touching the line. I keep my right hand on the crank, just waiting for the telltale thump. Then it's simultaneous pumping and reeling in an insane effort to keep this fish from cutting me off on the bottom.

The first three cranks are key, as is getting the rod up high without losing control and letting the fish turn the other way. It's important to use your rod as a crowbar as opposed to trying to winch the fish in with the reel. Pry the fish from the bottom and as you drop the rod, reel like crazy or all you're doing is giving the grouper back to the bottom.

It doesn't take long for the victor to emerge. You're either smiling ear to ear as you casually crank your fish the rest of the way in, you're hung in a rock or you're re-tying because you just got cut off.

Generally speaking, this type of fishing doesn't lend itself to the light-tackle game. A minimum of 40- or 50-pound test is the norm. I have several buddies who swear on 80-pound line just because they've been abused by too many 20-pound-plus fish to fiddle with "the light stuff." While most of the groupers you'll hook won't be 20-pounders it's a sad day when you finally get the hog to bite only to find that you showed up to the party with dental floss. Leaders of 60- to 100-pound test get the job done but if you feel like you're missing the bite, lighten up. And use just enough lead to hold your bait on the bottom.

An outgoing tide in the Gulf flows south. The incoming tide runs north. As you acquire more and more grouper numbers, you'll notice that some work better on the incoming tide while others are better on the outgoing. This is typically due to some aberration like an undercut, cave or crack that is specific to the spot. The groupers may favor that area of the ledge and only during certain tides can you anchor and present baits appropriately. Keeping notes of your catches will help you find trends that can put more fish in the boat. Slack tide generally shuts the bite down. Use this down time to find more spots and wait for moving water to start fishing again.

It may take a while to get the hang of anchoring on these small, shallow spots. The cool part is that the water is shallow, so pulling the hook 15 or 20 times in a day won't kill you. The key is getting just uptide of your jug. Dragging your anchor through the fish effectively ruins the spot, at least for a little while. Banging the bottom of the boat is another way to scatter the fish and make them picky. Treat shallow-water groupering just as you would sight fishing on the flats. Silence is golden.

My personal rule is that if it takes me more than one shot to get the anchor right, I've compromised the spot. I'll still fish it, but I've found that the groupers are much more cooperative when you are able to get the heading right the first time. More than two passes over a spot in 20 or 30 feet of water can be enough to shut the bite down for 30 or 40 minutes.

As new grouper laws go into effect, it will get harder to find legal fish. The majority of these shallow-water dwellers lie somewhere in the 18- to 22-inch category. But like any other species, the more you catch, the better chance you have of hooking the right one. And some days, you'll find, especially early in the season, that all the grouper you hook are 10 pounds and up. Savor those days, and the bruises you get from them.

Starter Numbers for Gulf Groupering

The sunken barges, culverts, pilings and concrete FADS of the average artificial reef make for great grouper homes. Although steady angler traffic keeps the populations in check, you can sometimes score big on the artificials. Try to be one of the first boats on the reef after a good blow for your best shot at an impressive catch. You'll lose a lot of tackle targeting reef groupers but if you lack any other numbers, it's a good place to start. Just remember that most of these groupers have seen it all before (including lots of spearfishermen) and are somewhat spookier than those living over natural bottom. Don't be afraid to change baits frequently and employ plenty of chum. Here's a listing of some West Central Florida reefs inside 50 feet of water:

Reef Site Loran Lat. Long.

St. Pete Beach 14192.0 44704.1 27-40.60' 82-51.75' Treasure Island 14200.8 44738.7 27-44.50' 82-52.85' Madeira Beach 14201.5 44768.0 27-46.30' 82-54.90' Indian Shores 14200.5 44859.2 27-51.40' 83-01.81 Rube Allyn 14212.3 44886.6 27-55.60' 83-01.40' Clearwater 3 mile 14243.8 44859.4 28-00.95' 82-53.70' Dunedin 14248.3 44887.5 28-03.20' 82-54.55' Tarpon Springs 14259.6 44935.0 28-08.25' 82-55.85' Pasco #1 14276.1 45099.3 NA NA Pasco #2 14275.7 45050.9 NA NA Pasco #3 14274.8 45048.2 NA NA

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