Catch of the Day Charters
Released a beautiful Blue Marlin and put together a nice box of fish on a 70th birthday party trip!
November mornings usually start with a pretty simple plan for us: go trolling.
There are enough possibilities offshore of Martin County this time of year that a well-rounded trolling spread gives us a shot at just about anything. Blackfin tuna, mahi, wahoo, kingfish and, increasingly, sailfish can all be part of the same day.
November also marks the beginning of our winter sailfish migration. As the first good cold fronts begin working their way south, we’ll start seeing groups of sails moving down the coast, and the fishing can change dramatically from one front to the next.
A lot of our decision-making starts before sunrise. We’re looking at what happened the day before, where the bait has been, what the current is doing and what kind of weather we’ve had. From there, we’ll pick an area, put the spread out and start covering water.
Once we’re fishing, what we see becomes just as important as what we looked at before leaving the dock. Birds working, flying fish getting pushed, scattered weeds, bait marking on the machine or a couple bites in a small area are all reasons to slow down and work it harder.
Blackfin tuna are still high on the list this month. Early mornings around Push Button Hill can be excellent, and we’ll normally keep our tackle on the smaller side when targeting them. Small feathers and peewee ballyhoo have produced plenty of fish for us. When you get a bite, don’t just keep heading down the road. Turn around, mark the area and make another pass.
Sailfish will become a much bigger part of the picture as November progresses. You don’t necessarily have to dedicate the entire day to sailfishing to catch one, either. Plenty of sails will show themselves while we’re trolling for everything else. As more fish begin migrating through, one sail in the spread can quickly turn into multiple fish, so stay ready and keep another bait rigged.
Wahoo, mahi and kingfish can all add to the action as well. We’ll continue keeping a bait down deep on the planer while trolling. It may be the quietest rod in the spread right up until it bends over.
Keep an eye on the current this month, especially after a front. On days when a northerly wind is working against our normal northbound current and the drift settles down enough; it can create a good opportunity to do some vertical jigging on the deeper wrecks. Amberjacks are always a fun fish to catch on a jig and will give just about anybody all the fight they’re looking for.
If putting some meat on the table is the goal, deep dropping around the Hill for vermilion snapper is another great November option. A few productive drops can put some excellent fish in the cooler without taking away from the main plan of trolling and looking for pelagics.
That’s really what November is about offshore of Stuart. We’re starting the morning trolling, the winter sailfish migration is beginning, and there are enough other species around that you never know exactly what might show up in the spread.
Keep an eye on the weather and current, pay attention to what the ocean is showing you, and be ready when that first good push of sails comes down the coast. November is just the beginning of some of our best offshore fishing of the year.
Nice mixed bag of Sails, Mahi and Tuna for November family trip!
Capt. Trent Shapiro
Catch of the Day Charters
(772) 208-0171
cotdcharters@gmail.com
CatchoftheDayCharters.com
