So there’s some stuff going on, and there are some things happening. Be more specific? You got it…
After what seemed like an eternity, some life has finally arrived offshore. It’s definitely not full-on mahi season, but there are some fish out there. Certainly working birds are the sure-fire sign, but there aren’t a ton of birds out there yet, so definitely focus on weed lines, rips, edges and floaters. There have been lots of small ones, with about a 50/50 mix of keepers from what I’ve seen, so make sure you have a de-hooker on board that you know how to use.
Bringing a mahi on board, letting it flop on the deck, grabbing it, squeezing it, digging the hook out, and holding it for a picture will definitely kill that fish. Even if it appears to swim away, it’s dead, which entirely defeats the purpose of the size and bag limit. Just run the de-hooker down the line to the hook, pull it up towards the sky and pull the line down, and give a little shake or twist over the side of the boat, and that peanut should flop right back into the water.
I’d recommend trolling one small mahi lure and one fresh naked or skirted ballyhoo. The small lure (a squid skirt, jet head, Billy bait, chugger or similar) will get you hooked up to a schoolie so you can see what size fish you’re into and cast baits at them if they’re keepers. The ballyhoo will get the attention of a larger mahi or a billfish.
Although the typical sailfish zone is 100 to 300 feet of water, there haven’t been any sort of numbers of them in there to speak of – just a few here and there. There seem to be just as many out in 650 feet of water where you’d fish for mahi. I hooked one last week on a weed line in 650 while trolling, as have a number of other people. I’ve also had reports of a few marlin out there as well, and I’ve caught a few trolling both ballyhoo and artificials.
The once ever-reliable Marathon Hump is anything but lately. I’ve had a few good days there trolling recently, and also a couple of busts. The sharks are ever-present, which makes it even more difficult. The last few times there, though, there was no shortage of amberjack down deep. They’re not great to eat, but a good fight.
