Off The Chain In The Sailfish Capital Of The World

By Nick Carter

Capt. Scott Fawcett didn’t hesitate when asked to make a prediction about sailfish season off Florida’s Treasure Coast. His outlook is extremely bullish.

“This is going to be one of the best sailfish seasons we’ve had in a long time,” he said. “By the middle of December, I think we’re going to see the best sailfishing we’ve had in the last 10 years.”

Fawcett’s optimism is based on a number of factors he’s followed for more than three decades fishing Florida’s Atlantic Coast. December and January is the historic peak season from Vero south to Palm Beach, Fla. The bite is heavily influenced by winter fronts and the proximity of the Gulf Stream, and everyone is eagerly awaiting strong northeast winds to usher sailfish south to their wintering grounds and closer to shore.

Closer to shore isn’t far out of Stuart, Fla., where Fawcett’s Off the Chain fishing charters is based. In an area known as the “Sailfish Capital of the World,” it’s typically a short 8-mile ride in his 32’ Contender “Off The Chain” to reach the color edges and temperature breaks where sailfish hunt.

In November, Fawcett’s attention was tuned to fishing reports some 600 miles to the north off the coast of North Carolina.

“We had a phenomenal sailfish summer,” he said, speaking of the action that usually goes down from April to June or July most years. “It seems like that body of fish disappeared offshore for a while and then showed up off Morehead City. Last time that happened, we had a fantastic season. I expect to see good numbers of sailfish in December.”

With the relatively flat bottom out of Stuart, blind trolling to cover water along the temperature breaks, color edges and reef lines is the preferred tactic. Fawcett pulls a dredge, an umbrella rig of some 30 or 40 baits and lures, to locate and draw in fish.

“You’ll see them come up behind the teaser,” Fawcett said. “Then you’ll put your hook baits in front of the fish.”

It’s up to the anglers to manipulate those “hook baits”—usually ballyhoo on a circle hook—in front of the fish.

“On a good day, expect five or six sailfish bites and the same amount of dolphin bites and then some bonito or a big kingfish mixed in,” Fawcett said. “Occasionally, we’ll also get a blackfin or a big wahoo while trolling or kite fishing.”

Kite fishing out of Stuart requires the right conditions. Sometimes when Fawcett finds a good current rip or color change, he’ll drop the trolling motor and deploy kites and live baits. Off The Chain’s center console allows 360 degrees of fishability, and when kites are flying, it’s worth dropping baits to the bottom, as well. While waiting on sailfish, anglers can fill the cooler with whatever’s in season. A mixed bag of snapper and grouper species is the norm.

Check out Off the Chain at www.offthechainfishing.com. Call Capt. Scott Fawcett at 772-285-1055.