When you run out the Crystal River in northwestern Citrus County, the Progress Energy nuclear power plant stands as the dominant landmark amid this realm of marsh grass, shell bars and spoil banks.

Local anglers know that the plant’s smoke stacks indicate wind speed and direction, and that they also provide a reference point for the bounty of angling opportunity within clear sight of these structures.

Redfish, black drum and sheepshead roam the shorelines and tarpon roll in the river during the cooler months. But coastal and nearshore waters offer a one-two combination of hard-hitting angling action that seldom fails to produce.

UPS AND DOWNS

About three miles outside the river, in 6 to 10 feet, the bottom rises and drops in sandy ripples known as "The Humps." Ripe with rod-bending potential, this area covers about half a square mile and attracts Spanish mackerel, bluefish, speckled trout, cobia and sharks.

"This is a nice area where people can come out, throw bait or artificials and catch a variety of fish," said Dan Clymer, a lifetime resident of Crystal River.

A regular on The Humps, Clymer drops off plane just outside of where the bottom begins to undulate, idles into the hot zone, and looks for the one factor that consistently holds predators in any given area.

"Look at all that bait," Clymer said on a recent outing.

Like so many days he’s seen, wave after wave of forage fish, mostly glass minnows, ambled past the boat. The Humps attract bait schools and the bait attracts lots of predators. It’s that simple.

Macks and bluefish feed with reckless abandon, and when they set their sights on a meal that dashes topside, their momentum carries them several feet into the air before a noisy splashdown. On an active day, the feeding frenzy looks like dozens of miniature missiles shot from salty silos.

Favoring the simplicity of artificials, Clymer tosses 1/4-ounce jigs with shad tails and jerkbaits or Gotcha plugs. "You hear a lot about how mackerel only like silver lures, but I’ve had my (best results) on the gold Gotcha," Clymer noted.

During a recent trip, fellow Crystal River pro Joe Berthein drifted nearby. Slinging a chrome Rat-L-Trap, he spanked the speckled trout—several of which put the chomp on his plug less than 20 feet from the boat.

Slow-trolling live threadfin herring or finger mullet on stinger rigs will appeal to the mackerel and bluefish, as will floating baitfish or live shrimp under popping corks for trout. Working jigs under corks or rattling floats will attract the trout, as the surface chugging imitates feeding activity and stimulates other predators.

Whatever you fish, sticking close to the bait schools—often identified by leaping predators and diving birds—anglers can typically count on steady action and a mixed bag of fish.

On windy days, a drift sock, or sea anchor, will slow your boat so you can more thoroughly work the area. If the bite is slow to start or tapers off, towing a frozen chumblock creates a scent line that stimulates nearby predators and gives distant fish a trail to follow.

MAJOR IMPACT

After an hour or two of working The Humps, anglers can transition to the area’s rugged limestone outcroppings where aggressive gag grouper will burst forth from their haunts and thump a trolled plug with authority.

Spring and fall see the best grouper action on Crystal River rockpiles. Winter finds the fish moving to deeper habitat, while summer brings water temperatures too high for the gag’s comfort. The hot months also find stringy "gumbo" weed matting nearshore rocks.

"When the water temperature is in the high 60s to low 70s, and there’s no grass, that’s the time to dust off your big plugs and go trolling," Clymer said.

His top spots lie in 15 to 30 feet, but keeper gags are occasionally taken as shallow as six feet. Understandably, the closer spots get hammered and the fish get educated. Thus, your opportunity level increases correspondingly with distance from shore.

"Basically, we’re just looking for good structure and dragging lures over the fish," Clymer said.

Armed with stout boat roads carrying 3/0 class reels with 50-pound braided line and 60-pound fluorocarbon leaders, Clymer trolls large-lipped plugs designed to reach as deep as 25 feet. The big lip guides the lure to the desired depth and also helps avoid snags by bumping across the structure if you get too close to a rock.

Braided line helps get the plugs down deep by slicing through the water with less resistance than monofilament. Dropping lures back farther and increasing your trolling speed will pull them even deeper.

Clymer varies his lure colors based on water clarity. Bright patterns such as firetiger, clown (red/orange/yellow) and dorado (yellow/green/blue) work best for murky conditions, while dark-back models that imitate mullet or lizardfish produce well in clear water. The classic red/white pattern is always a good option.

Sometimes one color will outperform others, but the fundamental attraction comes from a lure’s vibration—the side-to-side wiggle that mimics a trembling baitfish and makes a grouper hit a piece of plastic. Watching his depth recorder, Clymer runs at 4 or 5 knots and adjusts his speed accordingly to tow his offerings right across the grouper’s dinner table.

"You don’t want to run under the fish, because they’ll be looking up readyto whack a baitfish," Clymer said. "They’ll feel that vibration and bring you to your knees."

You’ll want enough drag to move a grouper away from his fortress, but leave enough give so the combination of a moving boat and non-stretching braid doesn’t rip the lure from the fish’s mouth. Usually, your forward motion will muscle the grouper out of his hole, but the coastal rocks hold plenty of drag-stripping trucks in the 15- to 20-pound range.

Fishing a 22-foot bay boat, Clymer bucks traditional rodholder tactics and instructs his anglers to manually tend to their rods while trolling.

"So many times you have rods in the rod holder, you hook a fish and as you reel up the other rod you get slammed. So, I put two and two together and said ‘There must be something to this.’

"So when I go over the structure, I start jerking that plug just like you would when fishing for trout. The grouper feel that (extra) vibration and it seems to trigger the strikes. They see (a lot of straight trolling), but if you jerk that rod and you really get that plug moving hard, they can’t stand it."

If one angler hooks up, the other one should rip their plugs erratically to entice the handful of grouper that almost always follow a struggling fish to the boat.

Capt. Bill Miller of Tampa recently joined Clymer for a day of rock trolling and found that this style of fishing guarantees an angler won’t fall asleep on duty.

"You really feel that lure vibrating and it’s a challenge to hold onto the rod," Miller said. "But you feel everything that happens with your lure."

Sometimes what you feel is the slashing attack of overzealous lizardfish, but sometimes a grouper’s ill-aimed attack ends in a miss. Responding with a couple of rapid twitches often brings the fish back for a second shot.

"When you have the rod in the rod holder, there are several times that the fish will hit at the plug before getting hooked," Clymer said. "When you’re holding the rod, you feel that and you know what you’ve been missing."

Now, don’t despair if you lack numbers for specific rocks. First of all, there’s plenty of structure out there, and these formations are usually visible below the surface. (Polarized sunglasses are essential.) Also, watch for sea turtles, which live around the same hard bottom structure that attracts grouper.

Crabbers set their traps over hard bottom, so a line of marker buoys provides another visual cue of possible grouper habitat. Consider your line length when trolling and steer clear of buoys to avoid snagging their ropes.

Even with no target, trolling plugs is a great way to locate new spots. Just pick a heading and troll until you get a strike. Note the area and circle back to mark the structure. Repeat this pattern until you establish an active depth zone and then go looking for new rocks to troll.

On your way in, you might venture a few casts across The Humps.

Plug Protection

When you locate a hot trolling bite, consider that the tool of your success can quickly become your enemy. Treble hooks are effective at grabbing fish and fishermen, so exercise high caution.

Capt. Bill Miller explains: "When you’re removing the plug from a hooked grouper, no matter what that fish does, don’t let go. If you drop a hooked fish the plug can snag you in your hand or arm and then you’ll be in trouble."

Minimize this hazard by gripping your fish under the soft gill covers. Pinch firmly with your thumb on the outside and fingers between the inside of the gill flap and the first set of gills. Avoid reaching between the gills where rows of sharp gill rakers keep debris from flowing through as the fish breathes. Fingers go in easily, but coming out is painful.

Altering your grouper plugs by replacing standard treble hooks with singles will significantly reduce the danger to anglers and facilitates safe, quick release for undersized fish. You may miss a few hookups, but some consider this a fair tradeoff.

Plugs of any configuration can wreak havoc if allowed to dangle. That’s rarely an intentional miscue, as most anglers know to secure the plug’s back hook in the frame of a rod guide and reel out the slack. But when rods stand in leaning post or T-top holders, you may not notice if a plug bounces loose during your run.

Wrapping a plastic hair clip around your plug keeps it under control, even if the hook slips free from its station. Velcro strips also achieve the plug-taming objective. —D.B.