As I write this week’s report, we are experiencing our first cold front of the season, and boy does it feel nice.
The temperature this morning was 68 degrees! I’m guessing that’s the first time we’ve had a temperature that began with a 6 since March. This is great for fishing, and of course just for everyone in general who’s had it with the summer swelter.
There’s lots of good news for us anglers this week. Starting in close, the bay side has started getting really active since the water temps have come back toward normal. This is a great option for anyone with a smaller boat who may not particularly enjoy fishing on the ocean side when it is windy and rough.
The grassy areas in 3 to 10 feet, banks and channels are active with mangrove snapper, ladyfish, jacks, runners, some groupers and mackerels, and sharks. Anchor up with a Danforth or Bruce style anchor (a grappling hook-type anchor will prove useless here) and get some chum flowing.
I like to have a pair of light spinning rods with 15- to 20-pound braid, a 20-pound piece of leader and small section of light wire at the end, finished off with a small chippy or bucktail jig tipped with a shrimp tail or ballyhoo strip. Pepper that thing all over the place all day and work it fast. It should provide steady action of runners, jacks, trout, mackerel, ladyfish, snapper and whatever else that is a blast on light tackle.
Take turns with that rod, and have another with a chunk of ballyhoo lying patiently on the bottom with a foot or so of leader and a small weight back in the chum line for snapper. You should find plenty of action, which is also great if you have kids on the boat.
Out front, the water on the reef has gotten periodically dusty or dirty, a welcome change from the summertime crystal clear. This is great for reef fishing, both shallow and deep. This cold front should signal the beginning of some productive channel and patch reef days. You’ll need decent current without crystal clear water for good action.
Same thing for the deeper yellowtail reefs. I’m hearing reports of some decent yellowtail bites, but almost always the sharks are lying in wait to ruin your day. They’re also living on every wreck, making landing a mutton snapper or amberjack almost impossible. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news there.
Offshore, there have been a few mahi still hanging around on weed lines and current edges in the 10- to 15-mile range. If you spend the time trolling and looking for them you can probably catch a few. Out at the humps, the sharks are still thick and make landing a big tuna really difficult, but you can probably sneak some small or medium ones by them on the troll by going with heavier tackle and cranking them in fast.
Looking deeper, this is arguably the best time of year for swordfishing. My last two trips were very active. We had lots of bites, some blue marlin sightings, and landed an estimated 200-pound swordfish on our last trip. Let’s go!
To book a trip with Captain Nick, visit www.noreastersportfishing.com.
