Bimini Inshore
[dropcap]B[/dropcap]Bonefish Ebbie from Ebbie’s Bonefishing Club on North Bimini, claims spring has officially arrived, “Inshore waters are still cool but inshore waters will begin to heat up quickly. The spring months of April, May and June are the best months for fishing the flats of Bimini. As we move towards the summer months, bonefish schools will become smaller and average size will be in the 8-pound range – some a bit larger. With the fish spending more and more time on the flats, sight fishing will become easier and you will frequently see the fish tailing as they forage the bottom for food. Crab and shrimp work particularly well at this time of year, as well as flies that mimic these natural baits. There will be plenty of permit around, as well as barracuda and tarpon. Nearshore reefs will produce plenty of yellowtail and mutton snapper. “
Grand Bahama Offshore
Capt. Billy Black, Duchess Sportfishing, tells us “It’s tuna time. Slow down the wahoo troll, use smaller lures and more surface baits.”
Capt. Billy’s favorite lure colors for tuna is green, yellow, and pink resembling a wounded, bleeding dolphin. Also blue and white, which looks like flying fish to the tunas. For yellowfin and blackfin tuna, he says 50-pound tackle is fine, “But if you see giant bluefins, break out your 80s and 130s.”
By using the larger tackle, you can help prevent sharks eating the giant bluefin by releasing them faster. While trolling these color lures, expect some large mahi and you will still find the much sought after wahoo. The wind should start to drop out as the cold fronts decrease, then you can also get back to some bottom fishing.
Long Island Offshore
Capt. Luke Maillis, Reed Addictive Charters, says “April is the best month for catching the most variety of pelagic species in Long Island. This month blends together the migratory season of each species. Numerous amounts of wahoo, tuna, mahi, and marlin migrate through. Targeting these species three to four days before the full moon, provides the best action for the bite. Almost any technique will prove productive during this month as you can choose to catch specific species according to the technique you employ. High speed trolling will almost guarantee you a few nice wahoo in the boat. Or live bait fishing usually pays off well for yellowfin tuna. Most people are not so particular to target certain species, but rather slow troll natural baits to catch a variety of them. Our preferred spread consists of Ilander Flasher Lures matched with custom rigged horse ballyhoo, and a braid Marauder.
We typically run a four-line spread with two ballyhoos on the outriggers, then a ballyhoo on either a planer or downrigger and the Marauder on a flat line. Trolled along at 8 knots, you usually are not waiting long before the action starts. Fishing Simms bar off Clarence Town is a hot spot. We like to work the edge in a zig zag pattern covering depths between 250 feet to 800 feet. Don’t be shy to put some heavy drag on these fish, as the ‘’man in the brown suit’’ is always following your boat ready to take their tax. We typically rig our ballyhoo with 9/0 and 8/0 double-hook rigs, so we can get away with 20 pounds of drag set at strike. Long Island also provides great blue water spearfishing for that adventure enthusiast, willing to brave the sharks for a shot at a world record size wahoo or mahi. Either a day in the boat, or a day in the water, It’s going to be a memorable one.”
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