[dropcap]A[/dropcap]bout the best choice you could make for this time of year (with the given closures on the grouper/snapper complex), would be going deep for the beelines, triggers and tiles while keeping a light line out the back for wahoo and blackfin tuna. There is no telling what will show up on the light line out there this time of year. Everything from king mackerel and wahoo to tuna and makos are out there now. I have written about a “sliding float” several times in this column, but there has never been a better time to fish it than this time of year along the break. A sliding float set for 35 to 50 feet deep with a beautiful Boston mackerel or whole squid is a slam dunk for a wahoo bite!
Step up a size or two on the hooks, line capacity, leader, rod and reel…upsize everything for this very reason.
I’m not suggesting fishing the 50’s, but I would beef up the tackle expecting to dump 200-300 yards of line before you can get lines cleared and underway to chase (if you drift), or throw the ball if you anchor. If you feel like your line capacity is getting blown out quickly from an anchored up boat, it is better to throw the ball and chase the fish down. I have converted to fishing braid on all my rods (including the light line/kite rods) which allows me more capacity for anchored up light lining. If you use mono, you may want to consider a braided line backing for this style of fishing.
It takes a “team” to fish this way, meaning you have to assign specific tasks to each crew member. You have to dedicate at least one person, if not two, to fish the light line or kite properly. If you are drifting, it requires someone at the helm pretty much all the time, one person for the light line, and a couple of the crew “banging on the bottom fish.” There will be plenty of action from the beelines and triggers higher up in the water column and tiles on the bottom. The unfortunate part of this is you WILL catch red grouper that have to be released.