By Capt. Evan Sanders, Sol Fishing
March is an outstanding month to get offshore with weather conditions vastly improving moving into the warmer months! When bottom fishing, target fish such as vermillion snapper, lane snapper, mangrove snapper, sea bass, as well as amberjack. All of these species can be located in depths between 70 to 150ft of water. When targeting any of the snapper variety, a great technique is using a fish finder rig and working from the top of the water column down to avoid catching grunts. Bait suggestions would be live pinfish, fresh cut grunts, select shrimp, and frozen sardines. Also, be sure to apply for the FWC “Exempted Fishing Permit” for your chance/opportunity to harvest red snapper. By doing so, it will help the state of Florida promote the push to extend the South Atlantic red snapper season.
Switching gears to the trolling side, focus in the 20 to 50 mile range and look for depth/temp changes. You should expect to hook into Kingfish, Blackfin Tuna, Wahoo, and Mahi. While Trolling, using a 6 to 7 rod spread is ideal. Your long riggers should have chuggers fished either naked or with a rigged ballyhoo. Short riggers can have islanders or any weighted streamer focusing on the 2-3 ft below the top of the water. Finally drop back two planer rods with either sea witches or diving plugs. By utilizing a spread like this you will create a great opportunity for a variety of catches!
Before every fishing adventure, always make sure to check all safety gear and let a loved one know where you will be going and what time you will arrive back. Having a working satellite phone is also a great safety measure!
Keep an eye on weather conditions and always respect mother nature. Always remember, if you can take a kid fishing, take them! It’s the memories that will last a lifetime.
