By Capt. Quinlyn Haddon
Summer in the Keys, albeit hotter than the devil’s you-know-where, is one of the best times to be on the water. With more calm days, open seasons for most species, and mahi peppering offshore waters, this is the time of year to boogie out and hunt for whatever tickles your fancy.
Swordfishing is great any time of the year, but during summer you can justify the fuel burn to get where they live. It’s nearly impossible to run that far offshore in June and not come across diving birds indicative of mahi or tuna. With minimal effort, this can be a nice score to put something in the box if you don’t have luck with the swords. It is normal to get skunked while swordfishing, and I don’t recommend going if you can’t accept that possibility. The best way to go into it is to be fully prepared for both a fish of a lifetime or to just chill with friends. Make no mistake, when you do land one of these beasts, it’s some of the most exciting fishing you can experience, and it’s worth the skunk risk.
Although you don’t have to run as far, the same consolation prize applies to heading out for tilefish, snowy and yellowedge grouper, queen snapper, barrelfish and rosies. Mahi fishing to, from and during deep-dropping rounds out a trip nicely.
Be prepared for mahi when heading offshore in summer. Keep at least four rods designated for working a school and more for trolling. J hooks are a must for these head-shaking, sky-rocketing, flippy-flappy, squirm-fish, but just about any line and bait will do. These tasty little dummies aren’t picky and would strike a banana peel if you jigged it right. That said, the speed of the bait is a variable you might have to adapt to. Their toddler mentality kicks in when you try to take a bait away from them, encouraging them to strike something they just turned their nose up at. If you get hit when reeling in your bait, open your bail and give them a chance to eat.
If you get excited about fish with pointy faces, be prepared for a marlin encounter this time of year. I keep rigged ballyhoo in a trolling spread and a pitch rod set up. Marlin aren’t overly common here, but when you see one, you want to be prepared for more than to simply wave and think, “that was neat.”
Marlin enjoy a mahi snack as much as we do and will pop up unexpectedly while mahi fishing. If you have a large live bait, toss that sucker out. If not, a mahi from the box will do in a pinch. Give her time to eat, hang on and enjoy the ride.
Mahi season is already off to a great start for both size and numbers. Come on down and fill your coolers!
Capt. Quinlyn Haddon; Sweet e’nuf charters, marathon, Florida Keys; @captainquinlyn; captainquinlyn.com; (504) 920-6342.
