The wind hasn’t been doing us any favors lately, but the boats picking their windows are getting into some solid action across the board.
On the reef, it’s been yellowtail city. Limits have been the norm with plenty of nice-sized fish in the mix. Grouper season is in full swing — reds and blacks are chewing on the ledges, and we’re seeing a good grade of fish coming over the rail. If you can find clean water, you’ll find fish stacked up.
Offshore, the mahi bite is strong, but they’ve pushed in tight. With the rough weather keeping boats pinned some days, the dolphin have moved closer to the reef edge than usual. We’re finding them working under black birds, and there are some big bulls in the mix. A handful of guys have been posting cow mahi in the 25- to 35-pound range, with a few pushing past 50 — and we’ve even seen fish in the 60- to 65-pound class come over the rail.
I’ll be honest — fish of this grade, in these numbers, this close to shore is something we haven’t seen in a long time. The work we’ve been putting in through South Atlantic Fishing Environmentalists (S.A.F.E.) — the tagging trips, the policy fights, the partnership with the Dolphinfish Research Program — it feels like it’s finally starting to show up at the rod tip. If you want to join the fight to protect what we’ve got out there, come find us at safefishing.org. We’re captains, mates and crew who run hooks for a living, and we’d love to have more anglers in the boat.
Special shoutout to the Coral Sea, Caribsea and Playbaby crews — they’ve been putting in the work and putting fish in the box through some sloppy conditions. Check the photos from their trips this week — says more than I ever could.
Bottom line: If you’ve got a window of decent weather, run. The reef bite is as reliable as it gets right now, and the dolphin are close enough that you don’t have to burn a ton of fuel to find them. Keep your eyes on the birds.
Tight lines.
