With the consistent easterly breeze over the last month, the dolphin bite is hot right now and anglers are catching these fish right on the reef edge, which is easily accessible for kayak fishermen. Some 25lb plus mahi mahi have been swooped up around the deep wrecks in 200 to 300 feet of water. Make sure you’re in the blue water or on the color change to put the odds of catching one or more of these beautiful fish in your favor. Lots of decent sized dolphin are being caught around floating debris that Hurricanes Irma and Maria left behind. Be sure to bring some chunked up squid, ballyhoo or any other baits you can get your hands on to chum up and turn on the fish you see under the debris.
Kayak anglers fishing close to the reef have found the kingfish bite to be slow. However, some small blackfin tuna have been finding their way into the kayak’s front hatch. If you’re lucky, you can still get catch the occasional 25lb tuna over the deeper wrecks by working a pink or purple vertical jig.
Wahoo, my favorite fish to catch have already shown up and will really turn on once we get that first November cold front. Right now, anglers are getting some nice medium sized wahoo right in front of Pompano Pier at the color change around the wrecks from 180-250 feet of water.
Fat, local sailfish are being caught around the shallow reefs straight out front between the Pompano and Deerfield Beach piers with some kayakers reporting double hookups in 80-100 feet of water. A great tip to help revive sailfish after an acrobatic fight is to use your pedal drive to swim the sailfish into the current for a few minutes until it’s ready to swim off and fight another day.
For kayak anglers heading out just before dawn, there are some big snook swimming in the surf, just off the beach between Pompano Pier and Hillsboro Inlet. Use a live finger mullet or pilchard to get hooked up.
The 2018 Extreme Kayak Fishing tournament season will kick off January 27th and 28th with the annual Sailfish Smackdown. For more information check out www.extremekayakfishing.com.
Joe Hector
954-895-4527
Extreme Kayak Fishing Inc.
www.extremekayakfishing.com
joe@extremekayakfishing.com