Miami, Florida - Offshore

Dolphin have finally arrived here in South Florida. This isn’t just a wave of Dolphin moving through. This is the full fledged Dolphin run that we call our Dolphin season, and there are big ones, small ones, and in-between ones. Anglers have been having a field day catching Dolphin using all the classic methods. Trolling has been very effective from the edge of the reef out to 600 feet of water. Of course, there have been many schoolies, but there are also plenty of twenty and thirty pound fish too. Anglers fishing kites along the edge for Sailfish are having no trouble catching their fair share of Dolphin. The Frigate birds are out there also, and they can be a sure sign for locating a big fish. One angler found two Frigate birds seventeen miles offshore and followed the same two birds for hours. He said the birds would find a Dolphin or school. They would troll under the bird and catch what fish was there. They would then find the birds again, who by that time had located another school of fish, and they would repeat the process all over again. Many of the fish they found under the Frigate’s were over twenty pounds. Meanwhile the Kitefishing along the edge of the Gulf Stream has been excellent. Sailfishing has been as good as ever. Many catches of 4 to 5 fish per day have been heard. Along with the Sails have been plenty of Dolphin. We have been enjoying a nice run of Blackfin Tuna from Triumph Reef to Government Cut. They are nice fish, in the twenty to twenty five pound class. The Kingfishing has been good. They have been biting better in the earlier morning hours. You will find many fish in the fifteen to twenty pound range. And of course there are plenty of Bonehead’s( Bonita), and the houndfish have moved in along the reef and can be a pain in the a.. if you let your boat get in too shallow. Plenty of action, and all of it has been in close along the reef. The wrecks are hot with Amberjack. Coming up is the full moon in May. Mutton Snapper fishing should be terrific. Best time should be the week just before the full moon. Live bait or a Jig and Ballyho should work best. Legal size limit on Mutton’s is 16 inches overall length, but these fish are spawning and should be well over the legal size limit. A short word on these spawning fish. Many anglers will find a pile of the fish on certain reefs or dropoffs, and make a fish kill out of a morning or afternoon. Remember, these are spawning fish, and they will be replenishing the supply of Muttons for years to come. Don’t make a pig of yourself. In my opinion, we should not be fishing for these fish while they are spawning. They should be left alone. But the you know the attitude now -a days......let’s kill everything today and worry about it tomorrow. Good luck!