Cobia Time! Last year February was the best ling run we had. Many of the giants were caught in February and March. Take advantage of those sunny days and go look around the 55-foot depths off Patrick Air Force Base, south of the Port. The rays are showing up!
Massive schools of redfish have been near the Port and around the tip of the Cape Canaveral. Look for the birds diving and there is a good chance you find ‘School X’, nicknamed by local guides. The reds will eat anything you throw in the school, buck tails, bunker, and I’m sure even a hotdog. 35lbs plus sized fish!
Large bunker schools are here, so take the time and cast net some. They may not be flipping so watch your machine and the mud balls. Offshore on the days we can get out have been great, but this is also the time of year that the kings are picky. If the kingfish don’t have a live bunker or threadfin flashed in front of their face they won’t eat. You will literally watch everyone around you hooked up and they will not touch a dead spinner bait. Put the effort in to catch live baits! Many of my offshore trips turn into port trips and beach trips if we are lucky with a west wind. If you want to catch a bunch of stuff and keep the kids happy get a few dozen live shrimp and have fun. The way we do our beach fishing is with medium rods and light tackle while using a 1/0 circle hook with a 20lb test leader to a small swivel then mainline. On the mainline use a 1 or 1.5 oz egg sinker – this is a typical fish finder rig. Everything eats a shrimp.
Shark fishing has been on fire as well. Large blacktip, hammerhead and blacknose have been plentiful. A bunch of bull sharks too. This time last year the big extinct sandbar sharks moved in, so we are hoping they do the same thing. They are a blast to catch in shallow water.
