Its definitely sping time fishing here in South Florida.  The reefs have pretty much had every species of fish on them.  Lots of kingfish from 10-30lbs have been covering the reefs from 100-150ft, dolphin have been hanging out in the blue water and have been ranging from 5-30lbs with some bigger fish thrown in, a few tunas have been around and the sailfishing has been great if you can find the current.  We have been kite fishing with live baits and it seems like goggle eyes have been the bait of choice though most of the bigger dolphin have been coming on pilchards.  Cobias have slowed though there are still enough around to catch a few every now and then.  Our last cobia came off a turtle's back that he was swimming with.  Wrecks have been holding a huge population of giant AJ's that can be caught on live baits and buttefly jigs.  Most of the fish have been from 40-100lbs and will give you a major workout. 

We are coming into tournament season here so hopefully the fishing will remain as good as it has been, and will lead to an exciting season.

Our spring dolphin run has begun with a lot of fish being caught in the 20-40lb. range and I have heard fish up to 57lbs. being caught.  Bigger kings have shown up on the reefs with the bigger fish in the 25lb. range.  As the water gets warmer the fish should get bigger.  Some cobias are still on the wrecks but some truly big ajs showed up this week with numerous fish from 50-80lbs being caught.  So plan on pulling on a lot of aj's to find the cobias.  The biggest fish are coming on live bait.  We are still averaging 1 sailfish each trip which is a pretty normal summer pattern for us but every now and then the conditions are right to catch a big load of them.  Blackfins are in miami which means its only a matter of time before they are think in our area.  Swordfishing continues to be slow with mostly smaller fish being caught.  On a daytime trip this past saturday we only hooked one fish that ended up pulling the hook, but were rewarded with a big dollie on a squid on the way back up from the depths. 

Good fishing remains on the reef with more spring species showing up everyday and the winter sailfish still showing when conditions allow.  Over the past week we have caught a handful of king fish from 10-20lbs., along smaller 5-15lb. blackfins, schoolie sized dolphin, as well as sailfish.  The bonitas have showed up in full force and while not much for table fare make for a great fight on light tackle from 8-12lb line.  The fish are ranging from 10-15lbs. and are pretty much all over the ocean devouring minnows in the 1in range so pretty much any small lure or bait will take them.  The blackfins are mixed in with them so a lot of live chum will bring them to the boat as well as trolling small, small squirted lures.  Kingfish have been eating goggle eyes off the kite and downriggers and seem to be getting bigger on each trip as we move into spring. Sailfishing can be really hot one day and die the next, an edge formed Monday ranging from 150-300ft of water and ran from Ft. Lauderdale to Pompano Beach to north of Boca Raton which is as far as I followed it.  In the mornings kingfish and small dolphin were working the line but around 10:30 when the wind picked up the sails started to bite and we picked off a pair before the morning trip was over.  I heard of up to 6 fish caught on afternoon trip boats. 

Look for sailfish to continue to come through when conditions allow and also more tunas and bigger kings to show in the next coming weeks. 

I haven't been reporting for a while but fishing has remained good. Sailfishing remains good when the right conditions are present, north tide the fish are there, south or no tide and the fishing slows.  The sailfish have been up and down the reef from Miami to Palm Beach with the best spots being anywhere there is north tide and bait.  Goggleeyes and small runners off the kite and flat lines have been the best bet for them.  Yesterday we fished half day and went 2-5 on sailfish as well as a bunch of small kingfish and a giant wahoo that skyed through our mono kite baits set up for the sailfish. Lost the fish but still a cool site to see a big wahoo launch itself after a goggleye. Bait fishing has been decent and that only means that fishing will only improve as spring creaps up. A few small tunas remain when the water is clear and enough chum bait can be cast netted in the intracoastal to chum them up for some light tackle fun. The Blackfins have been small and most fish are in the 5-10lb range. Kingfish are still on the small side but enough big ones are still around to keep it interesting. I have heard of a few dolphin offshore which will be more plentiful as March passes. Swordfish boats have been doing well and it should heat up as we approach the week before the full moon. On the wrecks AJ's are starting to get thicker and you can always have a shot at a grouper or snapper or two. We usually have the best luck with bigger fish around this time of year so hopefully the big fish will be here soon.

The past week the fishing has been good.  A good showing of kingfish, though not like in past years.  There are just too many people that have found out about the winter kingfish bite.  The grouper bite has been good and most wrecks are holding a supply of them.  You just need to have good weather and the right current to target them right.  The sailfishing has been hot if you have the right conditions.  I heard of up to 13 fish in a day caught and 6 in a half day.  That is what we expect this time of year down in South Florida.  The Mayors Cup sailfish tourney was this past weekend and the top boats had 10 fish over two days so the fishing either slowed or the bite to the south is slower. 

We fished the Hogsbreath tournament in Key West this weekend and had our best finish in an SKA event. Day one we started close and moved west as the day went on. Lots of sharks was the story of the morning. I don't think we caught a kingfish until maybe 10am. Fishing around 35miles west we caught our first kingfish about 20lbs. on the slow troll. We switched to kites and caught blackfin tuna. Back to slow troll and a black grouper off the downrigger, couple cudas and another king this time around 35lbs. Reset and this time the biggest bait we had in the livewell goes out on the downrigger. Past our spot where we had caught our two previous kings and the big bait goes off, and keeps going. You just know when you have the right fish on, it all of a sudden gets real quiet on the boat. The fish was foul hooked the lead hook in the side, the wire leader through her mouth, the stinger back around and caught on the mono. It was a real tense moment with only 2 inches of wire hanging out of the kings mouth until the mono, one shake of her head and it would have been bye bye kingy. Greg Haskins stuck her and it was high fives all around. I was figuring her around 48lbs, others including my brother were saying lower around 42lbs. It was 11:00 and we fished the area for another 2 hours and we started heading back. We fished out front for a little bit and headed in for the opening of the scales at 3. A handful of boats already there is usually a bad sign but we ended up with the first 50lber. of the tourney at 50.09. It only lasted for two boats, when Salty Marine weighed the 55lber. but can't complain about 2nd place for the day. I guess the 40's and 50's everywhere up and down the coast were really just 40's because thats what rounded out the top 15.

Day Two we started on the same spot and Salty Marine and others were sitting there already, we were really the slowest boat there. On the day we really only caught cero macks, sharks and saw some nice dolphin and ajs. No kings and when the front came through we just had to believe that our fish would stand in the top five. We finished early and got to the scale with the boat on the trailer just after weigh in started to find out we had been bumped to 3rd by .3lbs. Kind of like missing biggest fish in the PBSC Showdown by .6lbs c/o Pop-a-Top but good job to Tek and the Rascal team for weighing the only 50 of day two at 50.4lbs.

This week the sailfishing should remain strong and the kingfish should be consistent.  Bait fishing should improve as the moon goes away and if the weather allows the swordfishing should be red hot.  Untill next week.

I fishing the Jupiter Billfish tournament on Wednesday and Thrusday and the fishing was slow.  Only 50 releases on day one and we had two.  Next day same amount though we only caught 1 of the 2 fish we saw.  We ended up around 17th out of 50 boats.  Not bad for me, since no one else on the boat had any experience with billfish tournaments/kite fishing before.  The good news of the tournament was that we one the funfish division.  We weren't trying to but happened to catch a dolphin and kingfish and ended up making our money back from the entry fees. 

Friday's charter was more of the same very slow fishing.  Four guys from up north drove from Ft. Myers for a little sailfishing and we got our shot but non to the boat.  We also had hammerhead shark and kingfish for the day.

Saturday I decided to give sailfishing a break and went back to kingfishing.  We specifically target kingfish in spring summer, but winter can be hot.  We ended up catching a giant around 50lbs. and several others int the 30lb class.  It seemed that if you could get a bait in the right spot you got a bite from a big kingfish.

Sunday again kingfishing and the bait disapeared.  If you could get a bait in the right area you caught a fish from 25-45lbs. but I did not hear of any in the 50+range.  Smaller bait were taking fish from 15-30lbs. 

Sunday night I swordfished with four guys from Rhode Island, and it was beautiful out.  No other boats were within site as the afternoon storms scared everone but the fishing was good.  A lot of bits on live bait which as it does results in a lot of pulled hooks but the fish were acrobatic which makes for an exciting night.  We caught 1 out of three bites that pulled line and the one fish we caught was on squid. 

The weather has canceled my Bahamas trip, so I get a few days to relax before the next local charter.

It got cold down here in Florida last week and that should mean great sailfishing.  Well someone forgot to tell the sailfish because they really disapeared.  On the last front we were getting at least 4 sails on a trip and with this last really cold front that went down to 1 a trip.  Luckily the kingfish have made a good showing, with most fish on the small side but enough bigger fish in the mix to keep things going.   Smaller dolphin have been around with most also being small but a few bigger ones thrown in.  Cobias have been around and should only get better with time.  We saw our first Manta Ray yesterday and even though no cobias were spotted that is the first sign that they should come through soon. 

This week I am fishing the Jupiter Billfish Tournament followed by a couple of local charter days.  Next week I have a three day trip to the Bahamas weather permitting so I will report again when I get back.

Sailfish remain strong on the reef.  Up to 16 shots in a day have been had if you stay on the fish all day.  Find the north current and find the fish.  Small kingfish have been on the reef as well but most fish are on the smaller side.  We should get some bigger fish in the shallows to show up and stay soon.  There have still been a few wahoo around though they seem to have remained elusive for us.  Small dolphin have been around and occasionally are too small to swallow the goggle eyes that we have been using for bait. 

Swordfishing remains strong both day an night.  We daytime fished and had a bite on every drop.  On our daytime trip we didn't have the whole day to fish but ended up catching one small fish and pulling several others off.  It was too bad we couldn't continue because boats fishing around us ended up catching bigger fish as the day went on.  Nighttime remains consistent with our winter fish always slightly bigger than the summer fish. 

On the reef the bottom fishing has picked up with some nice muttons and groupers being caught on the last moon.   On a two hour fun non-charter trip this past thursday we caught numerous amberjacks, albie tunas(rare down here), kingfish, runners, lizard fish, yellow jacks and a suprise 25lb. Warsaw grouper.  There have also been a few cobias coming off the wrecks which should be more often as winter progresses.  Bottom fishing is really fun as you never know what is going to pop up.  Fishing the wrecks give you constant action all day

Wind has slowed again and it looks like today might be our last day out of the north for a day or so.  Yesterday the sailfishing you could tell was slowing and we ended up going 5 for 7 on sailfish with only two lost being part of a quad and with only two on board sometime you got to let go of the extra fish.  We started down off Fort Lauderdale and ended up doing best drifting Pompano to Boca.  There was complete lack of other species of fish out there today.  Today thursday we fun fished for 2 hours from Hillsboro Inlet to Boca and caught a couple bonitas, couple dolphin and one sail that free jumped into our spread.  Didn't really notice too many pods of sails moving through today hopefully this weekends wind will get them going again.

The Wind is blowing today which means the fishing should be red hot.  The wind has been blowing hard out of the southeast which usually means the sailfishing stinks, but it has been pretty good.  We have been having 5 or so shots in a half day and it will only get better now that the wind is out of the north.  Also on the reef there have been some schoolie sized kingfish, sharks, bonitas, and a few small kingfish.  The water has been a really milky green/blue which is another sign of slow fishing but the fish still seam to be there.  Goggle eyes have been the ticket off the kite and most of the shots have been singles.  Best fishing has been to the north of Boca and if you are on the fliers the bite has been best, especially with shots at dolphin.  We are fishing a couple days this week so I will report and I expect the fishing to be a lot better than it already is.

 

Sailfishing has slowed again...I was supposed to fish the Sailfish Kickoff but decided against it at the last moment, top boats yesterday had 6 fish.  Not bad and would have given me hope that I would have been right there with them but slow fishing days can be really painful when money is on the line.  We fished yesterday and the good news of the day is that we got a nice push of decent sized kingfish.  We caught several fish between 20-30lbs.  Some nice dolphin were caught and actually heard that the sailfishing wasn't that bad to the north so we should get another push soon.  The kingfish action was north of Boca Inlet on Live Goggle Eyes on the downrigger. 

We got a small cold front a day or two ago and the fishing seems to be getting better.  We have had a lot of warm days recently and the fishing has remained hit or miss, but it seems that the fishing has gotten a lot better with this past cold front.  Fish have remained on the shallow side with sailfish being caught as shallow as 50ft.  We have also been catching a lot of schoolie sized kings and dolphin.  I am still hearing an occasional wahoo and cobia being caught.  Again the best action for us has been off Fort Lauderdale to the Steeple and north of Boca Raton to Boyton.  We were going to fish the Sailfish Kickoff this weekend out of Miami but decided against it after not having a full team that was 100% into it.  There is no reason to throw a lot of money on the line if everyone doens't there have their head in the game.  We are supposed to get a little bit of blow on Sunday so the fishing should only be getting better in the next few days. 

We fished this past week from Fort Lauderdale to Boynton and had good results everywhere we fished.  Best action was had north of Boca Raton to Boynton for the sailfish.  We caught up to 6 sails on our half day trips, and never had less than two a trip.  Mixed in with the sailfish have been kingfish, dolphin, and a decent showing of wahoo.  Most of the wahoo have been in the 20-35lb range and have been fun on our light tackle.  The kingfish have been in the 7-20lb. range with most fish on the smaller side and a few big fish being caught at random.  Dolphin have come through one day and gone the next, it all depends on debris and how close the stream is pushing on the particular day.  Fishing should remain good this weekend, though calmer condtions will make sailfishing a little bit tougher.  Helium and slow trolling live bait will be key with the calmer winds.  Wreck fishing remains good on the calm days with AJ, almacos, and African Pompanos being caught on some wrecks.  Other wrecks are starting to concentrate some grouper as they do in the winter, I have heard some reports that the gags are starting to show as well as the blacks scattered on the reef.

There have been some good swordfish reports from those getting out at night.  Multiple shots are being had and several reports of mako sharks being caught.  This will be a good weekend to get out and test you luck with the swordfish.  The daytime should also be good with the calmer conditions. 

We have been sailfishing the past few weeks and fishing has remained good.  We had a really good run a week ago and were catching up to 6 sails in a morning.  Most of the fish are to the north and we have been fishing from Boca to Boynton Inlet.  We averaged 4 a trip and it has slowed down a little up till now as the current has stopped but still getting multiple shots a day.  Goggle eyes off the kite have been hot and we have been getting shots off the flat lines too.  We have also been catching kingfish on live bait and on jigs. 

Swordfishing remains strong when you can get out but the wind has kept most boats in.  We tried the daytime yesterday off Fort Lauderdale and had one bite but wasn't able to to keep the fish hooked.  It sounded like most other boats had similar results that were out yesterday.  On the way in we got into the small tuna schools that have been around and even though they have mostly skipjacks in them we actually pulled some small yellowfin tunas out of the school. 

The wind has picked up again and if the current picks up we should have some hot sailfishing in the coming week.

The prior week we had nice north current then 3 days ago the current switched south and the fishing got slow.  Offshore the dolphin fishing remained decent you just had to keep moving around to find the better sized fish.  On the reef you still have shots at sailfish but it has gotten significantly slower.  My charter yesterday (sunday) fished the reef yesterday and the bite took some time, we ended up catching a sailfish and some small groupers.  After we peaked offshore for a swordfish and had one bite on live bait before the wind really whipped up and it was no longer fun so we headed in.  The good news is that once this current whips around the bite will be good again.  Bait fishing for goggle eyes fishing has been decent down off Ft. Lauderdale and Miami so once this current flips again we will be there to catch them.