Fall is in full swing and with that comes some solid fall fishing. The kingfish bite has been pretty active with many 15 to 20 pounders caught in 60 to 120 feet. I’ve noticed that the best bite has been early in the morning before the sun gets up high. Try slow trolling with a downrigger or egg weight while zig zagging in 80 to 150 feet. I like to use a 40 pound fluorocarbon leader with a 9 inch length of wire with a 3/0 J hook and a stinger rig.
The prevailing east winds will bring some awesome mahi action into 180 to 300 feet. Try slow trolling around the color change and look for debris or weeds. I’ve recently caught a bunch of small mahi in less than 200 feet. Some of the kayak charter guys have caught some 15 pounders on the color change in over 200 feet while free lining a live bait. My setup for targeting dolphin is a 50 pound mono leader to a 3/0 circle hook.
Sailfish will show up in larger numbers this month. I have caught sailfish as shallow as 40 feet in November. Start fishing in 40 to 50 feet and slowly make your way out to around 180 feet. For me, there seems to be a sweet spot for sailfish between 140 and 160 feet. The great thing about Sail fishing is that you can catch them all day.
The wahoo bite will turn on once we get that first November cold front, especially around the full moon. Right now, anglers are getting some nice sized wahoo straight out of Hillsboro Inlet. Fishing on an outgoing tide would make your chances even greater. Look for color changes and try to fish along it by going back and forth with the kayak. I’ve caught many wahoo on the green water side, so don’t just fish on the clean side of the color change. I use the same kingfish rig mentioned earlier when targeting wahoo.
This month there are good numbers of mutton snapper on the reefs. Even anglers fishing from the beach at night have caught mangroves and muttons in the surf during the full moon. When fishing shallow around the full moon off Pompano I drift along the sandy bottom between the pier and inlet, right outside the swim buoys. You will be amazed at how many you can catch that shallow. For anglers targeting them at night off the kayak make sure the kayak has at least 2 lights and never go fishing alone. My snapper rig off the kayak is 15 feet of 40 to 50lb fluorocarbon leader with a egg weight and a 4/0 circle hook.
Joe Hector
954-895-4527
Extreme Kayak Fishing Inc.
www.extremekayakfishing.com
joe@extremekayakfishing.com