By Capt. Chris Johnson
After a couple of months of dolphin and tarpon fishing, our focus returns to the reef during July.
The dolphin fishing was excellent in June, and it should roll into July. However, we generally find many more sublegal fish this month than other times of the year. Hence, the reason to concentrate on the reef and wreck fishing.
Love is in the water, as the yellowtail, mangrove and mutton snapper are all in their spawning mode for the next month or two. This causes them to be aggressive eaters.
The most consistent action tends to be the 30- to 60-foot depths plus the deeper wrecks. The yellowtails are in the 15- to 18-inch class, and the mangroves weigh anywhere from two pounds all the way up to eight to ten pounds.
For the yellowtails and mangroves, large amounts of chum are required. This time of year, we begin using 25-pound blocks in chum nets with large holes, allowing large amounts of chum to escape, which holds their interest. Pair the frozen chum with a slop mixture of YellowtailUp and oats or chum balls made from ChumDrop, and you should have non-stop action.
For the yellowtails, we drift small cut baits, such as ballyhoo, silversides or shrimp, back in the slick with 15-pound fluoro leaders and small, light wire hooks.
The mangroves tend to hug the bottom more than the yellowtails. So, it’s imperative your baits are on or near the bottom to get bit by the largest mangs.
Chum balls with large chunks of ballyhoo or pinfish will get even the most finicky of the mangroves and muttons to eat. We also use live pinfish or ballyhoo fished on a jighead when the fish are more aggressive.
This technique may also result in grouper hookups, so be prepared to use slightly heavier tackle than you would for yellowtails, specifically 15-pound main line and 20-pound fluorocarbon leaders.
If you decide to head offshore for dolphin and tuna, your best bet is to leave the dock early in the day as the bite quite often shuts down by mid- to late-morning.
Better than watching sharks on TV.
Shallow water shark fishing around the bayside flats and grass banks has been excellent for both lemons and blacktips, with the occasional bull and tiger also making an appearance.
Most of the blacktip sharks average four to five feet in length and are great sport on light tackle. The lemon sharks are in the four- to seven-foot range and put up quite a fight when matched with 20-pound spinning gear. Catch-and-release shark fishing in waters as shallow as four to five feet, with sharks swarming around the boat, makes for awesome summer fun fishing.
Lobster season is upon us.
Midday should be reserved for exploring the reef with your snorkel and fins, lobstering during mini season, discovering the area watering holes or napping.
The two-day Sport Lobster Season (known locally as lobster mini season) is July 27 and 28 this year. We encourage all to join us for great fun with tasty rewards.
At the same time, we ask you to exercise caution, as our waters will be congested with boats and snorkelers, and please adhere to the regulations.
Capt. Chris Johnson specializes in offshore, reef/wreck, gulf/bay, sailfish, shark and tarpon fishing with SeaSquared Charters, docked at Faro Blanco Resort and Yacht Club in Marathon.
305-743-5305
SeaSquaredCharters.com
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