Cobia season this year wasn’t too bad at all. Instead of two days like last year, we got nearly a week this year! Bonus. We had a few good days, then beautiful weather with an empty ocean. We even saw a few hundred rays with nothing on them. Odd. But the good news is that this is also the time frame we start seeing them free swimming out on the reefs. While you’re out there slow trolling for kings, keep an eye out the back of the boat for that cobia trailing you. If your bottom fishing, keep an eye on what follows your fish up to the boat. The sandbar sharks have been holding.
Good numbers of mahi mahi have been caught the last few weeks and should only increase this month. Start in the 90-120 foot range as many seem to think you have to go to 300 feet right off the get go. Unless someone is out there telling you to “C’mon,” start shallow. Start looking for color changes and temp breaks. Also look for weed lines and currents, as that is a good place to start. I like to use smaller islander lures with small ballyhoo or strip baits. On bright sunny days, go with the yellows pinks bright blues. On darker days, go with black red and purple colors.
Kingfish will continue to do well this month, too. Best bait is going to be the bunker. If not, use frozen minnows. And use a good net. Now that the water is warming up, live bait is much more consistent. Some days you may have to ride far south to get it, and some days it’s right there in the Port—but at least it’s around. Beach fishing is really starting to heat up as well. We’ve already seen some nice buoy line kings and tarpon. If the bait’s around, chances are there will be larger fish feeding. I like to start with 60# mono till I start getting cut off, then I switch to #4 wire.
Shark fishing has been on fire as well. I know many say they don’t want to deal with sharks or you cant eat them. They are completely wrong. On light tackle, sharks are so much fun—and blacktips are great to eat. Ever wonder why many restaurants are out of their shark kabobs? And I assure you, there’s no shark shortage. Just take what you will eat! No waste. We need there to be plenty of sharks (and every other species) for our future kids.
Capt. Chris Cameron
Fired Up Fishing Charters
firedupcharters@gmail.com
www.firedupcharters.com
www.sharkfishingcocoabeach.com
(407) 222-3573
Your premier fishing guide charter for shark fishing Cocoa Beach, offshore fishing Port Canaveral, and nearshore fishing Cape Canaveral.