That September full moon is starting to get close; with it should come some hungry wahoo for those venturing offshore.  The August full moon bite was good, September has the potential to be just as good or even better.  Anywhere from Jupiter Inlet south to Boynton Inlet are all good areas to look for those striped beauties.  Depth will vary, but 150-400′ should be a viable range to find them.  Methods for catching them will vary, but trolling(highspeed and regular) and livebaiting will be the two most productive.  Here is a quick look at the two best tactics.

Trolling(Highspeed)- Highspeed trolling peaks in August, and produces some decent numbers in September and October.  Lure choice will vary from angler to angler, but in general the rig stays relatively consistent. Fifty to Eight pound class tackle is a must.  Heavy reels with good strong drags, and bent butt rods are standard.  Wireline or heavy braid is the most popular for highspeeding, but some do still prefer heavy mono for the job (All will work, it’s mostly a personal choice).  From the line comes a heavy inline trolling sinker (18-64 ounces depending on tackle), 30-100′ of heavy mono shock cord, and then lure of choice.  Many different lures do well on the wahoo: Yo-Zuri Bonita, G-Fly Wolfs, Islander,…and the list goes on.  As fas as colors go; blue/white, red/black, purple/black, orange/black, and pink/white are all good choices.  Crank it up to 12-14 knots and cover some water.  Try and cover about 90-300′ of water, and don’t slow down(much anyways) till your ready to sink the gaff in!

Trolling(Standard)- Many many wahoo are caught pulling baits at standard 6-10 knot speeds.  The nice thing about fishing slower(and usually with some bait) is that it is much easier to get baits up on the surface, and get a bait or two down on a wireline, planer, or downrigger.  For this deal nothing beats an oldschool Islander and large bonita strip or split-tail mullet.  Dark color patterns seem to work best with this combo, but blue/white is also a great choice.  Same depths are great for targeting wahoo(90-300′), but if you find dolphin farther offshore, keep those deep baits out.  Wahoo love to stay underneath dolphin schools and pick off an easy meal from time to time.

Livebaiting- Nothing fancy here for catching a wahoo.  I like to set up a little on the deep side of the normal range (250-300′) over some good bottom structure.  Being a little deeper helps keep the bonita off your baits, and is a great place to look for dolphin and blackfin tuna as well.  If you can find smaller baits like sardines, pilchards, or greenies use those.  They are an easy target for a fast feeding wahoo, and provide good solid hook-ups.  Goggle eyes and blue runners are good baits, especially for big fish, but will result in some chopped baits.  If you have larger baits consider using a stinger rig, smaller baits a single hook wire leader will work out well.

The full moon is September 12, should be good this week and next week as well.  Get after them now!

Good Luck Everyone,

Todd

Good Morning and Happy Labor to Everyone. Shop Hours today will be 6am-4pm.  Here is a quick update of what has been going on this weekend.

Offshore- “Mixed Bag” is the only way to really describe the fishing offshore.  A few dolphin have been caught in 250-500′ of water off Jupiter Inlet. Best bet for the dolphin is to get out and start looking and troll a of assorted spread of small jethead lures, tuna feathers, bonita strips, and squids.  Out with the dolphin should be some scattered blackfin tuna, and maybe even a wahoo (although those striped beauties may be anywhere from 70-1000′ of water).  Speaking of wahoo, this week coming up ahead of the full moon should be really good for them.  Break out the high speed lures for one more go, get those split-tail mullet and horse ballyhoo ready, and get after them.  Fish the outgoing tides, if possible, around Jupiter and Lake Worth Inlet for a chance or two at a wahoo.  Depth varies, but 120-250′ is a good starting point.  Snapper fishing, muttons and yellowtails mostly, has been fair for those spending the time at it.  The biggest surprise has been the nice number of keeper grouper caught over the past week.  Sardines, squid, ballyhoo, and bonita chunks are all good baits to put out on the bottom.

Surf/Pier/Inshore- Snook are still the main species on everyone’s mind, and for the most part they haven’t disappointed too bad.  Snook fishing remains good at the Juno Pier, Jupiter and Lake Worth Inlet, and many area bridges(that is mostly a night time thing).  Bait selection has been key, so be sure to stock up on a variety of fresh bait to offer those tricky linesiders.  In other news inshore….well I don’t have a whole lot else to report.  The Juno Pier has had a decent little push of early season Pompano and a few good size Spanish Mackerel.  Doc’s Goofy Jig for the Pompano, small live bait for the Macks.

More updates as I get them!

Thanks for reading,

Todd

Commercial ballyhoo season is back open, and that means fresh ones are once again becoming available.  The first batch of fish for the season are good clean looking fish in the med to med/large size range.  Great for dolphin, wahoo, sailfish, blackfin tuna, mutton snapper, kingfish, and many more!  Look for fresh deliveries usually on Thursdays or Fridays.  $12/dozen again this year.  Better pricing on large amounts.

Good Luck,

Todd

OFFSHORE- September is a interesting month offshore for the Palm Beach area.  It is a transition month for the most part; as summer conditions begin to slip away and fall/winter conditions haven’t quite set in.  The weather plays a huge part in which way we trend, and time will tell which way we go. Here are a few of the main changes coming. First and foremost (love or hate them) the bonito are going to start thinning out.  The typical summertime live-bait spots along the beach will begin to dry up, and mullet will become the most abundant bait around.  Summertime live-baiters will begin to break out the trolling rigs for the fall season.  And…tournament sailfish anglers will be chomping at the bit for the wind to start coming out of the northeast.  Some of the main players this month will be…Dolphin, Blackfin Tuna, Wahoo, and Snapper. As mentioned earlier, the bonito will begin to thin out this month.  This will make some room for the fall run of blackfin tuna.  Most of these blackfin tuna will be on the smaller football side, but are still very tasty and fun on light tackle.  Trolling small jethead lures, mini tuna feathers, and very small squid or strips is a great way to cash in on these guys.  They will be hanging out around 150-300′ of water most likey.  A spread of small lures is a great way to nab a few dolphin that will be around as well.  The little tuna and dolphin will both be around rips, color changes, and floating structure.  The small blackin tuna and dolphin will keep the wahoo hanging around for another month or two as well.  Highspeed trolling, livebaiting small blackfins, or pulling natural bait down deep should get the attention of a wahoo or two.  Keep a dark color pattern lure in the spread (black/purple,black/red,black/orange) for the wahoo, but don’t overlook blue/white as a good option also.   The wahoo should be in that same 150-300′ depth, but if the blackin or dolphin are a little deeper the wahoo will be also.  The summer snapper fishing was very subpar for the most part, with any luck September will help pick up some of the slack.  Before the cooler water sets in, the muttons and yellowtails will be chomping at the bit.  Bait choices vary; but bonita chunks, sardine, and squid are great snapper bait options.  60-120′ o water should be good depth options for the snapper.

Good Luck Everyone!

OFFSHORE- As of today (Thursday 6/16/11)it is looking like a nice weekend weather report, and with a couple of tournaments going on this weekend; expect it to be very busy offshore over the next couple of days.  The fishing has been very good lately, and as we move away from the full moon I would expect it to pick up a little more during the daytime again.  While kingfish, bonita, and mutton snapper continue to provide the most stable action along the 120′ ledge; plenty of other fish are hanging around as well.  Those bonita may be pesky and drive you crazy sometimes, but they attract a whole slough of top notch gamefish; including blue marlin, large wahoo, giant cubera snapper, sharks, and more.  Try slow trolling a medium live bonita in 150′ of water…what comes up after it may surprise you!!!  Live sardines are still the bait of choice for fishing the ledge these days.  Throat hooked sardines on a flatline rig is deadly on a wide assortment of species.  The snapper fishing has been better this week, with 80-90′ of water from the Juno pier to Jupiter Inlet holding the most fish.  Sardines are once again the bait of choice, but a yellowtail jig with a small strip of squid or bonita will not go unnoticed for long.  Dolphin fishing slowed this week.  Most of the dolphin caught have been out deeper.  Trolling a assortment of small baits and lures in 400-600′ of water should turn up some mahi.

INSHORE/SURF/PIER- Its summertime, and with the exception of the catch and release snook fishing it is a little slow right now.  With hot air temperatures come hot water temperatures and very slow moving fish.  No matter what your target species fish early morning, late afternoon, or even try the night bite.   The snook are taking up their summer homes in the inlet and along the beach, and they are showing up in good numbers.  Live croakers, whiting, and sandperch are your best be for some big snook bites right now.  If your into lures try Rapala X-Raps, white bucktail jigs, and soft body swimbaits.  The summertime resident spanish mackerel are hanging around the pier.  Small livebaits and longshanks hooks are the ticket for them!  Otherwise, it is a slow pick on everything else…just have to get out and try!

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL YOU DADS!!!

AND GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE FISHING THE WIRK/BUZZ KDW TOURNAMENT AND/OR THE FATHER’S DAY DOLPHIN CHALLENGE!!!!

LASTLY CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GOIN’ RAPTOR FISHING TEAM ON THE NICE PERFORMANCE LAST WEEK IN THE POMPANO SALTWATER SLAM…CHECK OUT ONE OF THE HOTTEST YOUNG TEAMS IN SOUTH FLORIDA RIGHT NOW!!! http://www.goinraptorfishing.com/Home.html