[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ell the red snapper season has come and gone; I hope you all got great catches. I must say I had a blast being able to fish for them and keep a few. The numbers were quite good, in one day I saw several fish in the 20-plus-pound range. Well, it’s over for this year but let’s hope they will give us longer periods next year. I hope that many were tagged and released.
Kingfish will be moving in closer to shore and that will help the person with the smaller boat. Remember to have plenty of stinger rigs on board as a nice size king will twist that wire and it will not be able to be used again. Make sure your reels have plenty of line on them. If not, replace it because you never can tell when that 40-pound king is going to take the bait.
The dolphin bite, where did it go? I have been pulling baits from 70- to 250-feet of water with very little success. We had a very strong bite early in the season but it has pretty much disappeared. I have been getting kings in the 100-foot area also, but not big ones.
Sailfish are still in the area and should be following active bait pods. This will put a smile on your face when you get that hookup. This past month, I have gotten several sails and have seen plenty come to the back of the boat.
The bottom fishing bite has been fantastic and I look for that to continue through the summer months. Triggerfish, grouper and mangrove snapper are being caught.
Big jacks are aggressively attacking top water plugs; this is some hard fast fun when nothing else is around.
Moving closer to the beaches the tarpon bite will continue to get better and better as the bait on the beach stays around. It has been hit or miss at times. When you do find them, be patient as they will bite your bait and then it’s game on not “fish on”.
The sharks are going to be a problem again this month as the mullet run will be going on. With warmer waters, the sharks will be here and you will catch plenty of them before you get your prize fish. Sharks are a great fighting fish and will test your strength and stamina.
In closing, I have been seeing very large sharks coming up to the boat so please, be very careful. In the past few weeks I have had tiger sharks, bull sharks and hammerheads come to the boat, I am talking in the 8- to 12-foot range.