Wow! To say that May fishing has been good is an understatement. Although the winds kicked up this weekend pausing the action, it has been excellent. Not only have we been catching a lot of fish but the variety and quality of fish hasn't disappointed. We've been catching a combination of blackfin tuna, mutton snapper, black grouper, amberjack, kingfish, almaco jacks, hammerhead sharks, and more.
The only obstacle that we have faced is large patches of sargassum weed that has floated up from the gulf. Due to these weeds, we have opted to put away the kites and focus on bottom fishing and drifting with flat or weighted lines. Results have been very steady using this technique. During the last couple of trips we did find some areas that provided relief from the weeds so I will not rule our some late season kite fishing just yet.
Mutton snapper fishing has been very consistent too on the days leading to and following the full moon. On our best day we had 5 or 6 in addition to kings, bonitos, and barracudas. Two of our muttons were well over 10 pounds making them very respectable considering that we are fishing in Miami and not in the keys were larger fish are prevalent this time of the year. I also believe that we will have similar action through June as long as the weather cooperates.
Blackfin tuna action has also been excellent. Although we haven't been solely targeting them, we have been catching our fair share. The best time to catch these chunky tuna is early in the morning or late in the day as the sun starts to set. All of our tunas have been ranging from 25 - 30 pounds making them an excellent light tackle catches especially on spinning gear.
Deeper wrecks have been holding a lot of large amberjack and almaco jack. On some days when conditions allow, we have been able to get them on vertical jigs. The cool thing about this type of fishing is that many times something other than a jack grabs your jig providing an extra level of excitement.
If sharks are your thing, now is a great time to give it a shot. Not only have we been catching sharks, but we've also been seeing them on almost every trip. Some sharks haven't shown themselves but have made their presence know by eating some of our catch. Most of the sharks we are encountering right now are hammerheads but bullsharks are also around along with all of the usual species.
Also, I've had several inquiries about mahi fishing. Mahi fishing hasn't heated up yet but fish are being caught to the south of us. It won't be long before we start to see schooling off Miami. If you are thinking about doing some mahi fishing this summer, now is a good time to start planning. I have open dates in June and July if you'd like to give it a shot. If the mahi don't cooperate, we can always target snapper on the reef.
Finally, I would like to take a moment to thank all of the service men and women that made the ultimate sacrifice in order to allow us to do what we love. We owe both them and their families the utmost respect. I hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend as we take time to honor our heroes. God Bless the USA!
SPONSORS AND FRIENDS: Mercury Marine, Costa Sunglasses, Taco Marine, Aquatic Nutrition Chum, Betts Tackle, ACRARTEX, and SeaDek
Tight Lines,
Capt. Orlando Muniz
