King mackerel have been caught on offshore reefs in 60-90 ft of water with various techniques. Sometimes live bait is a must, and other times everything works. The fish have been down further than usual at times. Bottom fishing has been producing mostly red snapper, but there have been legal snappers and triggerfish in the mix. Grouper season is closed until the beginning of May.

The warm temperatures and southeast winds have caused a severe brown algae bloom on the Indian River Lagoon trapped between the 528 and 405 causeways. Before the bloom, there were a lot of small trout in deeper water. Reds and black drum were in skinny water being ultra skiddish. The visibility went from 4-6ft down to near zero in 5 days. Stay in the far north IRL or ML for inshore fish. Please catch and release all trout and reds, only use circle hooks with natural baits, and avoid treble hooks to ensure fish survival. This fall’s redfish spawn was the biggest in many years, and there have been lots of 6-10 inch redfish. These fish are less than 3 months old and are the future.

I hope everyone had a great holiday!