Summertime is here! That means calm seas and great fishing off of the Treasure Coast. Now that we are moving into summertime, I will begin to mainly fish live bait.
Offshore 15-to-40 miles out there will still be some mahi to be caught trickling by on weed lines or temperature change edges, as well as on the reef in 80 foot. Itâs not uncommon to catch a 15-pound or bigger dolphin from 60-to-80 foot of water while trolling live baits. There are also some wahoo around in 80 foot of water in the summertime that we will catch when slow trolling for kingfish with blue runners or pilchards. This is also a great way to watch your bottom machine and find new rocks while youâre slow trolling down the reef. Look for small rocks (2-to-5 foot drop offs) with a lot of bait above them. Those are the kind of rocks that will hold snapper and grouper as well as pelagic fish. Cobia will also be out cruising the reef line, so the possibilities are endless of what you could catch in the summer right off our coast!
If youâre looking for bait to live bait fish, you can usually bet on 12A buoy which is offshore of the power plant in 50 feet of water. This buoy usually holds greenies, blue runners, and sometimes will have sardines. Use a number 8 sabiki for the smaller baits and a number 12-to-15 for the larger blue runners with a 2-ounce dipsy sinker on the bottom. You can find those at Whites Tackle in Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, or Stuart! Another great place to find bait is with Dave at Daveâs Live Bait! He is usually selling bait from 4-to-7:30 a.m. in the Fort Pierce Inlet. He sells a mixture of pilchards and greenies. It is always best to give him a call at (772) 519-2104 if you do not see him in the morning. He could be at Stan Blum boat ramp.
Bottom fishing for snapper, grouper, and amberjack is very good as well. I like to continue to fish the snapper on the reef anywhere from 70-to-90 foot of water. There have been multiple reports of some big mutton snapper starting to show up out on the reef. Target the shallower side of the reef (70-to-80 foot) to target mangrove snapper and the deeper side (80-to-90 foot) to target the big mutton snapper. Cut cigar minnows, ballyhoo, sardines, and grunts are all excellent choices of bait.
The grouper and amberjack I fish anywhere from 140-to-200 foot of water. I target rocks and wrecks for these fish. We have been catching a lot of big amberjack lately, it seems as if there are too many amberjack to get past to get the bait down to the bottom! But nevertheless, they are a good eating fish that pull extremely hard! For tackle I use a 80pound main line, preferably braid because it has less scope, to a three-way swivel with 20-to-40 ounces of lead depending on current, a 15 foot, 80 pound fluorocarbon leader and a nice 10/0 Mustad hook. For bait, I use large blue runners or large greenies if I canât find blue runners.
FORECAST BY: Capt. Colton Hester
Sonna Girl Fishing Charters
(772) 293-5342
colton@sonnagirlfishing.com
www.sonnagirlfishing.com
