Wevans,
Trolling time isn't here yet, not sure why, but two weeks ago I spent about 1.5 hrs trolling the very same area off Dog Island, marking fish the whole time, with 4 lines out without a hit. I had 2 long lines with stretch 25's and two short lines with stretch 30's, 4 different colors all for notta! So I pulled up on one of the holes marking fish and twenty minutes later, my stepson and I had our two man limit, releasing several shorts as well.
With that knowledge, Sunday, with my better half with me, I just dropped 2 lines in and trolled to the area, with no strikes, just to make sure before we anchored up and put some bait on the bottom. It's nice when you only have to anchor once and the bite is non-stop.
I'm thinking with the two month closure and another cold winter upon us, come April 1, the grouper still hanging around in the state waters will be hungry and/or mad enough to hit just about any lure that swims by!
Capt. Jay