Offshore 6/30/2012
Capt. Nick Gonzalez
July 5, 2012
Miami - Saltwater Fishing Report
The day started off bright and early at 630 am. Clear skies and light west winds
made for calm conditions. We headed offshore on a clients 35 contender in search
of dolphin. Reports of larger fish were promising as we headed out.
We stocked the baitwell and armed an array of spinners for casting baits under
birds or weedlines, and trolling gear with artificials to cover fishy areas. We
planned to cruise along at a fast pace to cover water.
We made he trek past 400' and hadn't seen any signs of life. Same for 600' and
800'. At 900' we saw a few loose weedlines but no bird or bait activity. Finally
at 1100' we began to see larger pods of fliers. We trekked back and forth between
1200' and 2000' when we finally saw a few birds working a weedline in 2300'.
Anoher boat was in the area, and soon after we arrived the birds began to
frenzy. Gaffer dolphin chased flyers around the boat as we baited our hooks. We
missed the first bite, but quickly made up for it with a triple header. We
managed to boat all three fish (and fish a fourth line) with only 2 people
aboard.
We drifted for another 10 minutes after the birds moved on and picked up anoher
gaffer sized fish. We managed 4 nice fish before 9 am.
We moved on SE and found another weedline with no bait activity. We headed back
west (with a clocking NW wind) and found a bird working scattered weed in 1200'.
Soon after setting two pilchards out behind the boat, a slammer bull demolished
the bait closest to the boat.
A 45 minute battle ensued, but the bull finally succumbed to the 20lb spinning
gear after many deep dives and surface acrobatics.
We pushed along that depth for a bit, following a weedline to some floating
debris. A small tripletail and a lot of bait were present, but no dolphin. We
stopped off on a few more weedlines and saw some busting skippies, and that was
it for the day. We headed in and were back at the dock by 1.
Final Tally-- 5 dolphin from 9-15 lbs and a 35lb bull.
Miami Fishing Forecast:
Large dolphin are working there way through the area with many packs of smaller fish in the area as well. Fish originally were out deep (past 1300') because of last weeks west winds, but they should be a bit closer with the consistent east and southeast breeze.
Sailfish and blackfin tuna are still available on the edge for those who put their time in, with lots of kingfish mixed in as well.
The snapper bite should be picking up now that the calmness of summer has settled in. Mangroves, yellowtail, and muttons are off the reefline and have been spawning with the full moon. They serve as great light tackle targets and are also delicious on the table.
Target Species:
Dolphin Wahoo Sailfish Blackfin Tuna Kingfish Cobia Yellowtail Snapper Mangrove Snapper Mutton Snapper
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