Yes, it has been quite a while since my last fishing report. This is the time of year when, like many other guides, business slows down in August and September. With all the slack time, it's time to pull maintenance on the tackle and the boat.
I often hear that the reason for this slow down is it's to hot, fishing is slow, and there are the afternoon thunderstorms. It's true that it's hot, however, there are ways to beat the heat. As for the fishing being slow, that depends on what species you are after. Let's take a look at what the summer has to offer.
During the daytime, the main fish out on the reef are going to be kingfish, bonito, and barracuda. Use light tackle for these species and on some days, your arms will ache from fighting so many fish. Besides these three species, there will be an occasional sailfish and mixed in with the bonito will be an occasional blackfin tuna. Around the wrecks, there will be some mutton snapper and yellowtail. Further offshore, there are dolphin and a few wahoo. The dolphin fishing has picked back up some from a very dismal late June and July. As for the afternoon thunderstorms, if you fish early and watch the weather, you can usually get in a half day of fishing.
Now, let's talk about beating the heat. The best way is to fish after dark. The reef has been producing mutton snapper, mangrove snapper, and yellowtail snapper. On Thursday (8/10), Steve Gensolin and his friends Billy, Wade, and Ray took advantage of the good snapper fishing. We started out in 40 feet and got the ball rolling with lane snapper and some under size mangroves and yellowtail. The sharks moved in on us and we moved offshore to 55 feet. The chum bag raised pilchards to the boat and we started catching legal size snappers. At the trip end of the scheduled trip, they all decided that wanted to stay another two hours. About an hour later, the current died off and the fishing slowed down, but that is when the goggle eyes showed up. At the end of the evening, we had caught and kept 4 mutton snapper, twice that many mangrove snappers, 5 legal yellowtails, and 15 large grunts. Throughout the evening we caught and released numerous lane, mangrove, and yellowtail snapper that were under sized along with lots of grunts, and 2 bonnethead sharks. The action was steady most all of the evening. That's one way to beat the heat, and now here's another.
Swordfish are found much further offshore. They make great table fare and the battle with this giant is hard to beat. On Friday (8/11), Eric had his bachelor's party with his friends Jim, Frannie, and Busby. We were set up just before dark. During the beginning of the trip, our drift was toward shore. During the last hour of the trip, the drift changed to an offshore one despite the wind still coming from the SE. It was at this point that we hooked up and the battle was on. We worked the fish back to the 50 foot mark on the line and then the hook pulled. Two other baits got slashed during the course of the evening. The seas are calm and should remain so on into October.
To sum it up, I have plenty of dates open, so getting the date you want should not be very hard. Despite the heat, the daytime fishing is good. To beat the heat, fish at night. Whether you're looking for sportfishing action or something to take home to eat, the fish are there both during the day and after dark. You've got the low down on what's going on during the summer. The rest is up to you. Give me a call 305 965-9454 or send me an email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to book a date and lets get out there and catch some fish.