Martin County Offshore Fishing Forecast – October 2012

Ian Wichers with a 39 pound gag grouper caught off Martin County, Florida.

October fishing out of Stuart, Florida marks the beginning of some of the best world-class fishing that peaks in December and January for a variety of species, we’re talking grouper, snapper, sailfish, dolphin, blackfin tuna and wahoo.

The strength of October fishing is directly related to the passing of early cold fronts. The more cold fronts and north quadrant wind we have, the better it gets. We have many days in October with three or more sailfish releases. Catching a box full of dolphin is not uncommon, along with by-catch of wahoo and decent size blackfin tuna.

The migratory sailfish start mixing it up with the “resident” sails during October along the Treasure Coast. PHOTO CREDIT: DayMaker Charters, Capt. Pat Price.

The trolling bite for pelagics really starts to heat up as the temperatures start to drop. The great thing about fishing the Stuart area is that we are in 70 feet of water just five miles off shore. The “corridor” that the fish are migrating south in is only a couple of miles wide. Stuart is really the first area where the migratory highway starts to taper into a smaller zone, almost like a funnel effect, kind of like going from an eight lane interstate to a four lane highway. The further south you go, the narrower this corridor becomes.

Grouper and snapper start to roll back down to the south with the ground swell generated from the passing fronts. You can expect great fishing for both these fish the entire month of October.

Big gag groupers will also make their way south for the winter spawn and it is a great time to take advantage of these tackle testers.

FORECAST BY: Capt. Patrick Price
Day Maker Charters
Phone: (772) 405-0091
sailfishpat@comcast.net
www.daymakerfishing.com
Where Days are Made!