We are almost into July, which means one thing and that is it is officially summer! Synonymous with summer in South Florida is fishing for mahis and the past few weeks there has been no shortage of mahis. There has been a ton of Sargasso weed in the Gulfstream and under the weeds you can usually find quite a few mahis. As thick as they are the only letdown is that there have been a lot of small mahis. From the tower of the Double D, it is quite easy to see if there are mahis under the weeds. If there is, we cast out a few live baits and usually the hook up is instantaneous. From the tower we can usually judge the size of the fish and after we catch a few and they are short (less than 20 inches LJFL) we leave that patch of grass and search for another one that may hold bigger fish. If makes no sense to sit there and hook and de-hook small mahis when just down the road you many find a school with bigger fish. Mahis grow extremely fast and the fish that are small now will be well above legal in just a few weeks. So as we get in July we will be seeing bigger and bigger mahi. Mahi fishing in the summer may very well be the perfect trip for an entire family. There is usually plenty of action to keep even the youngest of anglers busy and you get to bring home plenty of fish fillets for everyone. It's a great way to spend the day with family and friends.
Another good option this time of year is a multi day trip to Bimini. In Bimini we have a lot of different options as far as fishing. Just last month we were in Bimini fishing the 28th Annual Tom Tucker Fishing Tournament. We were lucky enough to win this tournament. We caught quite a few large mahis and some tunas as well. It was a lot of fun and hopefully we will fish it again next year. Besides fishing for mahis in Bimini, which you may also hook into a blue marlin, summertime is also excellent for yellowtail snapper fishing. You can catch some truly big flag yellowtails in the Bahamas! Still another option is to go deep dropping for yellow eye, and queen snappers as well as various types of groupers. If that is not enough, for the true hardcore fisherman, we can always run into NW Channel and target yellowfin tunas. So as you see the options are quite numerous in the Bahamas.
With the calm weather of summer, daytime swordfishing is another option in the summer. With slick calm days, it is easy to see the bite of a swordfish, even if that bite is in 1800 feet of water. Plus, there is nothing as exhilarating as watching a swordfish jump out of the water on a slick calm day.
On the topic of swordfish, on July 27and 28th is the 1st Annual Swordfish Cup. This tournament follows the same format as the Blue Marlin World Cup where you are fishing against everyone in the world for one day to see who catches the biggest swordfish. With South Florida being the mecca for daytime swordfish, lets bring the first trophy to South Florida. We are open for charter that tournament so if anyone is interested please contact me for more details.
Even though the temperatures are pretty hot in South Florida, there is almost always a breeze on the ocean, which definitely keeps you cool. So whether it’s fishing in Bimini, fishing for swordfish or mahis in Miami, now is the time to book those trips. Before you know it summer vacations will be over!Tight Lines,
Capt. Dean Panos