By Darcie Arahill Contributing Writer
August will bring light south and southeast winds and calm seas to South Florida. The air temps in the upper 80’s and low-90’s with humidity making it feel like 100-105 degrees and afternoon thunderstorms is what August will surely bring. What does this mean for fishing?
Offshore fishing is generally slow in South Florida during the warm summer months, but there is certainly opportunity! I suggest you get out there early before the hot sun sends the fish down deep. Mahi are typically on the small side in August, but if you search for those weed lines and debris up to 20 miles out you can still catch dinner on most days. This is the time for all the small boat owners to take advantage of calm seas and keep running out searching for fish and covering water. Closer to shore, there should be a decent king bite but be sure you target them in the early morning. Using live goggle eyes on a “kingfish rig” or trolling spoons will do the trick to catch kings. Bonita are thick and should remain so through August, they are lots of fun on light tackle, but if you are not a fan of this fish simply save them up for bait; chunks or strips—they usually get scarce as soon as you need them!
Summer also brings the best wahoo bite, especially around the full moons. We like to high-speed troll with big cowbell lures around 15kts, but some other favorite “regular” speed trolling baits include a bonito strip under a pink sea witch, a split-tail double-hook rigged mullet (with or without the sea witch) and the always popular ballyhoo under a blue/white or black/red Ilander lure. Don’t forget to do some bottom fishing before you go in, the snapper bite should be good, and you can catch dinner.
Inshore and at the inlets it’s snook spawn time! Live baits such as pilchards, greenies, sardines, and croakers will catch snook at the inlets. Be certain to go fishing when the water/current is moving fast as this gets the bait moving so plan your trip accordingly. Snook fishing is a lot of fun and does not take a lot of gas, money, or time. Of course, next month we will all be looking for the start of the annual mullet run of bait fish, it’s a very exciting time both inshore and along the beach.
Ask me questions about fishing & see my recent FISHING VIDEOS on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/darcizzleoffshore