a solid wahoo.
With Summer winding down, the offshore fishing is still heating up. For offshore kayak anglers, September is our best month for mahi mahi. Look for the weed lines and color changes and you will find schools of decent sized mahi mahi ranging from 10 to 15 lbs. On a nice east wind I’ve caught some of my best mahi in 200 to 250 feet of water around the deep wrecks. My personal best 49 lb dolphin was caught in early September in 180 feet of water. My set up for catching these beauties includes a 5 foot length of 30 lb fluorocarbon leader tied to a 3/0 or 4/0 circle hook.
Jigging over the deep wrecks in September has produced some monster amberjacks and the occasional wahoo around the full moon. If you’re in a school of small mahi, drop a jig deep under the school in hopes of pulling up a nice wahoo. On a good outgoing tide in the early morning, make your way to the color change in 180 to 200 feet of water for some decent 30 to 40 lb wahoo. If you’re using live goggle eyes, try slow trolling in 180 feet of water. Use 30 to 40 lb fluorocarbon leader to 12 inches of wire to a 3/0 to 4/0 J hook with a stinger rig. With wahoo the stinger rig is very important.
Kayak fishing for kingfish is solid this time of year. The king bite is really good from 80 to 120 feet. Try slow trolling a live goggle eyes with one on top and one down deep. Zigzagging in and out of this depth. My rig for kingfish is the same as for wahoo. You can also catch some nice kingfish by slow trolling over some of the deeper wrecks. The sailfish bite will be starting to pick up as well. Put out a live goggle eye when you hit 60 feet of water while heading offshore. Most of my sailfish bites this month have been when heading out to fish and heading in after fishing. Drifting with a live goggle eye on top in 80 to 150 feet can be very effective when targeting sailfish.
The blackfin tuna bite is winding down this month, but I’ve still caught some awesome jumbos in September. Jigging over the deep wrecks from 180 to 300 feet will surely produce some nice tuna, but you’ll have to be patient. My jig color choice is pink or purple. I’ve even had some luck with glow in the dark jigs as well. With live bait, try setting up a drift in 200 to 250 feet of water with a live goggle eye or pilchard on top and another at mid depth.
Bottom fishing this month has produced some nice gag grouper and even snowy grouper. Live baits have not been effective for me personally when targeting grouper. Try using stinky sardines butterflied bonito or any other type of smelly bait over the deep wrecks. I’ve even caught some nice gags in 150 feet of water. If your going to use live bait I tend to use pilchards and make sure your leader is at least 15 feet in length with a 4/0 circle hook tied to the business end.
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Joe Hector
954-895-4527
Extreme Kayak Fishing Inc.
www.extremekayakfishing.com
joe@extremekayakfishing.com