The offshore bite has been red hot as of late! Kingfish are leading the pack for the past week, they have been stacked up from the beach and any structure all the way out to the 90 foot ledges. Slow trolling a live threadfin or mullet on #5 wire has been the ticket, with the better bites coming early in the morning. There have been a few decent dolphin bites reported trolling out in 500 feet this week as well, but trolling this time of the year can be hit or miss.
The bottom bite has been surprisingly good this late into summer this year. If you can get your baits past the red snapper, there has been a steady mangrove snapper and grouper bite. Remember to keep a flatline out with a livie. There have been a lot of dolphin and kingfish swimming up to check out the commotion.
The red snapper season madness starts this weekend. As stated earlier, the red snapper have been as thick as ever and it should not be a problem to put a quick limit in the boat. Live bait really is the key when targeting the bigger fish, which means leaving a little later as the bait have been coming up after the sun rises. Bring a 5lb box of cigar minnows just incase the baits make themselves scarce. Remember to respect other anglers out there, pulling up 30 foot from someone and throwing out your anchor is bad etiquette. There is plenty of ledge for everyone. Good luck and be safe out there!
Nice report Justin!