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Jupiter & Palm Beach Offshore Saltwater Fishing Report
Capt. Rob Mazzei
February 19, 2001
Jupiter - Saltwater Fishing Report
Sharks, Sailfish and sabikis!!!
Great news was not that we caught our first sailfish in a week, but that spanish sardines and threadfin herring are finally starting to move southbound towards Palm Beach.
Saturday morning we started off trolling ballyhoo for dolphin, which had been biting relatively consistent over the last several days, but today was dead. After hearing reports of sailfishing picking up, I decided to head inshore to look for live bait. I have not broke out a sabiki all season because there have not been any positive signs of baitfish in there area.
All that changed!!! We launched out of Jupiter that day, cruising north in 60 feet of water I noticed some bird activity in the air and on the water’s surface, all of a sudden the sonar screen lit up. Totally psyched, the baitrods were broke out. Generally, I only use one sabiki rod, because 4 to 8 hooks on one line can be treacherous when put aside after a bait catching attempt. They’ll catch everything, ears to sweaters. But since the bait schools haven’t been present off Jupiter or Palm Beach Inlets, I felt now that we finally found some serious bait schools it was time to get down to business. Spanish sardines were the special of the day! The were hungry as well.
It wasn’t a "cake walk" but cruising around, keeping a eye on the birds we managed as many baits as we wanted. After one bait rod got the weight bit off the bottom of the rig, I figured it was time to catch some fish. We set out one bait off the stern while we continued to "sabiki up" some bait. "Bang" a small sailfish starts tailwalking in the direction of the bait. Cranking like mad I finally came tight on the fish and the sailfish was definitely hooked solid. After he was landed it seemed all was quite in the area. So we cruised in toward the beach.
In the distance I noticed big splashes on the surface of the water. I looked to the sky to see if there any pelicans scouting out a bait school and then dive bombing the surface. Nope, no birds. But as we got closer to the action, jumping 2-4 feet out of the water were sharks, spinner sharks, living up to their name. They appeared to be about 80 to 100lbs. It was hard to tell, when the sharks were "shakin' their thang" in the air for only a second or two. There were many sharks in the area. So prospects looked good.
We shut down rigged 20lbs class outfits with wire leaders and went to work. Well, no more then 5-7 minutes go by a the rods two customers were holding started to scream and bend like nobody’s business. No doubt about what hooked, I felt we were in for it now. We lost one after a bunch of jumps and spins (hence the name) the other one remained firmly hooked. We chased him down to shorten the fight and to try catch some more while they were active in the area. After grabbing the 40lbs leader the wire chase cut through and the fish was free to go. I would love to get a photo, but there is no way I going to bring a shark into the boat! All were satisfied.
Earlier last week we trolled up 8 dolphin off the Loran Tower north of Jupiter inlet. The next day we saw three, and the next none. So any given day, you might score with mahi and the next nada. Having other options is wise.
With bait schools moving in sportfishing will only get better from until the summer months.
Kingfish have been around all winter, but have also been moving around a lot, so try establish a pattern and locate them consistently has been tough.
Get the bait and good chance you’ll get the fish!
I’ll be speaking at the Boca Raton Fishing Club this Thurs. Check the newspapers for location and itinerary. Hope to see you.
Good luck out there! Captain Rob Mazzei-Sail king Sportfishing Charters
Good luck!
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