[dropcap]S[/dropcap]portfishing in July can be very productive offshore. Dolphin, the chief residents of our offshore waters are congregated amongst the weedlines that form out there, generally 5-10 miles offshore in middle of the Gulfstream current. While there are some bigger dolphin here and there, most of these dolphin are what we call âschooliesâ, which are 4-8 pounds and easily caught on lighter tackle. For these fish, we have the best luck trolling and covering as much area as possible with our baits out. Weâre looking for a well formed weedline or large patches of sargassum weeds that tend to hold fish. Bird sightings are a great find offshore too as birds have the âbirdâs eye viewâ and can spot surface fish much better than we can on the boat. Or floating debris such as a large plank or chunk of wood, or basically anything floating on the top of the water can and should hold fish. These schoolie size dolphin stay packed up into tightly bunched schools of fish. Schooling offers at least some protection from sharks, marlin and other large sea monsters. This makes it very convenient for us to catch them. Once you find a school of fish, just keep one dolphin in the water at all times and the entire school will stay right with the boat and not be spooked away. You can catch up most of the school. Some of these schools are very large with as many as fifty fish.
Sailfish, tuna and wahoo are biting good right on the reefs in just 100-200ft of water. You donât need to go way offshore to catch fish this month. While not the best season for sailfishing, we do catch them often on the troll. For the big numbers of sailfish, the windier winter months are much better. Wahoo bite very well on the deep trolling baits, either using a planer or a heavy trolling lead. They are mixed in with the schools of bonitos so if youâre catching bonitos, youâre in prime territory to catch wahoo. Tunas are easy as you will see them busting baits on the surface. Troll a light jig or natural feather to catch blackfin tunas. Barracuda and kingfish are also on the reefs this month and might bite while trolling. The action this month trolling the reefs is as hot as the weather. Letâs go fishing!
Capt. Brett Magers
Fishing Headquarters
www.FishHeadquarters.com
(754) 214-7863
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