Types of fishing in Florida
Bottom Fishing
The continental shelf tapers slowly on Florida’s East Coast and this means lots of area and structure to bottom fish. Though local knowledge is a plus, many wrecks, both accidental and man-made are published on fishing charts thus making them fishable to anyone with a loran or GPS. Year round, bottom fishing can be good for grouper, snapper, cobia, and many other tasty species. It is possible to catch gag, red, warsaw, snowy, kittymitchel, and black groupers. The snappers consist of red, mangrove, mutton, lane, and the occasional yellowtail. Amberjack, african pompano, and cobia will also be hanging on local structures looking for an easy meal. The incredible variety and the mystery of what each drop may hold make bottom fishing one of the local favorites.
Live Baiting Nearshore and reef
An excellent and popular method of trolling for kingfish, cobia, dolphin, sailfish and the occasional giant wahoo. Boats catch their livebaits along the beach and near shore waters. The baits consist of mullet, pogies, and greenies. Pogies or menhaden are the most commonly caught bait. They are cast netted from large schools, which congregate in 30 to 6 feet of water along the coast. Large muddy areas and diving pelicans are good indicators that pogies are about. Watch and listen for small flips on the surface. A large, circular livewell with plenty of fresh water is a must to maintain that lively quiver. Livebait trolling is done near shore as well as offshore. The baits are trolled as slow as possible on light wire with 2 #4-6 treble hooks. A twenty pound conventional or spinning outfit is all that is needed as long as you have some line capacity. A light drag is essential to keep from pulling the small hooks being used. This is a popular type of fishing due to its relative simplicity and accessibility to smaller boats. There is nothing like seeing your bait get nervous and then get blasted from below.
Offshore Trolling
The fertile waters lapping the coast of east central Florida are teaming with many diverse types of gamefish and sealife. Trolling is an effective and popular method of catching many of the resident and seasonal pelagic fish. The warm, northward flowing Gulf Stream is normally found approximately thirty miles from land and its fluid boundaries are often the haunts of dolphin, wahoo, sailfish and marlin. However one need not be in the Gulf Stream to catch fish. Most species come inshore to feed on the many different kinds of bait that gather over natural bottom contours and wrecks. Kingfish, blackfin tuna, cobia, barracuda, and little tunny are also frequently caught while trolling and give variety to a day’s action. Trolling methods vary as much as the fish to be caught. Anglers pull dead baits such as ballyhoo, mullet, and bonita strips. Alone or in combination with lures and skirts, these dead baits are resurrected to swim again. Artificial lures and spoons are also trolled and can be an effective way to cover more ground if the fish are spread out. Trolling slowly with live baits is a highly effective method when the fish are concentrated. Port Canaveral is one of the safest and most navigable inlets on the East Coast. It harbors a great charter fleet and two boat ramps. Local shops have all of the bait, tackle, ice, and advice that you will need to tap into this awesome fishery.
Otherside of the Gulf Stream
You have been running for hours now and the water is still that same bottomless blue, but the excitement is mounting because your temperature gauge just dropped a degree and a half. You have just emerged from the warm-water river known as the Gulf Stream. You have entered a realm of incredible fishing potential that has come to bear the name the “Other Side”. Now your eyes scan the horizon and all points in between trying to find something to focus on. You are searching for a “pack” of birds because they are the ever-watchful companions of the yellowfin tuna. The yellowfin are using the slightly cooler waters bordering the Gulf Stream as a highway on their northward migrations. They are cruising quickly, stopping only to annihilate any baitfish that happen to be in their path. The birds, spying from incredible altitudes are always on hand to clean up the carnage left in the path of the ravenous yellowfin. So as the food chain goes, the birds are watching the tunas and we are watching the birds. We are not alone in the hunt for yellowfin, because blue marlin are cruising about using their own time-tested method of fishing. If you can find some floating debris or a weed line you might add dolphin, wahoo and tripletail to your menu. The fishing is best described as ” hit and run”. Often the tuna spook after a pass or two with the boat. You need to make the most of your first pass with multiple hook ups. A spread of small to medium high-speed lures maneuvered into the path of the tuna can often result in five to six reels screaming at once. If the school dives or the fish get shy about striking, then you’re off to find another pack and repeat the procedure. More and more boats are now investing in radar units that can detect the packs of birds for approximately six miles or more. This greatly increases one’s chances of finding the tuna. Generally this great fishing takes place between sixty-five and one hundred miles out. Safety and planning are incredibly important. A life raft, epirb and single side-band radio are important safety features on a long voyage such as this. These factors and others tend to make this a “big boat” fishery though many small boats have been making the run in order to tap into this awesome fishing. Come join us and encounter the thrill and suspense of dragging your lines through the “OTHERSIDE”
Inshore – Flats
Central Florida is home to an incredibly diverse inshore saltwater environment. Thousands of acres of shallow grass flats, miles of canals and shorelines are home to many resident and migrating fish. Stalking redfish, sea trout, snook, tarpon and many others are becoming increasingly popular to a wide variety of anglers. Light tackle and fly fishing for these inshore species are both relaxing and exciting. Accessing these flats can be as easy as pulling off the road in places or skimming the glass-like rivers at dawn in a high dollar flats boat. There are many experience inshore guides available to visitors or residents alike. Manatees, dolphin, and birdlife round out the experience.
