Broward and Dade

Tarpon are slowly thinning out along the beaches and in the ocean inlets. Still plenty are being caught and released along with some big jacks, ladyfish, bluefish and snook. Live mullet, large shrimp and crabs are the favorite beach and inlet baits but a large Rapala X Rap or a one ounce Hookup lure jig tipped with a soft plastic tail will get you hard strikes. Offshore fishing has been good. Grouper season is now open on the Atlantic coast. Fishermen are allowed three groupers per person. Only one can be a black or gag and the others can be red groupers or all three can be red groupers. Gags and blacks must be 24 inches total length and red groupers must be 20 inches total length. Plenty of amberjacks and groupers are on the wrecks and each will hit a large pinfish, speedo, small bullet size bonito or a large strip of bonito fished near or on the bottom. Vertical jiggers will get their fair share of groupers and jack while working the deeper wrecks. Sailfishing has been consistent and some very large kingfish are migrating through our area. You can drift with three hooked rigged ballyhoo or live baits in 100 to 200 feet of water for best results. Some blackfin tuna are also showing up. Dolphins have been scattered but some large fish continue to migrate through our area. Look for the dolphins along the edge out to 1000 feet of water. Nighttime bottom fishermen are finding an assortment of snappers and small groupers plus some over size kingfish.

Biscayne Bay Inshore

Fishing continues to be steady in North Bay. Seems there was a run of sailfish in the canals this past week. At least one sailfish that is that somehow made its way up into a Keystone Point canal and was filmed chasing a school of mullet. Anything is possible. You can watch the video on Florida Sportsman Magazines South Region Forum. Besides the sailfish, large sea trout are thinning out but are still available on many of the grass flats in North and South Bay. Along with the trout have been bluefish, jacks, ladyfish, barracuda’s and a few snappers. Casting ¼ ounce red Hookup lures tipped with a Gulp or Trigger X shrimp is a great way to locate the fish. Fishing live pilchards and small pinfish under a Cajun Thunder float is another way to get in on the action. These fish are also hitting Rapala X Raps and Twitchin Raps. A few snook have been feeding in the day time and there are some large tarpon working many of the shallow grass flats where mullet schools are present. Late night snook and tarpon action has been good around dock lights and along the bridge shadow lines.