​Inshore the usual species are being caught at the rocks and by the docks. Many captains have been catching flounder in the river on various baits. Tarpon are being caught at the rocks, and live bait works the best for them. A freelined mullet or pogy on 5/0 circle hook tends to be candy for the silver kings. People are also catching mackerel at the rocks but usually at specific times. I have spent most of the week offshore so I have more info on that side of the ocean.

​Mahi have been found with ballyhoo on chugger heads in 300-450 ft of water. A white marlin was hooked and tail walked across my spread before crashing into the birdie and daisy chain I had out. I lost tension and he spit the hook. I don’t know his weight but he was easily six feet tall without the bill as he walked across water. The billfish were found a little further out. Try any normal hex shaped trolling lure for the marlin. The ballyhoo will work also. In deep water, snowy grouper were caught with squid on a circle hook, but choose squid that is thick with ink and gunk, not the washed out stuff. Any bottom rig can work for bottom fishing these grouper. Recently they were being found in about 300 feet of water. Please note you can only keep one snowy grouper per boat. If you plan on catching a bunch of these, please purchase a seaqualizer. This device brings bottom fish back down to the depths and prevents them from dying unnecesarily. Seas look to remain in the 1-2 foot range all week. Showers should hold off until maybe Friday. Winds should remain less than 10 knots. Have fun, be safe, and good luck out there.

I apologize for not getting a report out last week but a new boat kept me busy. This year has been a little unusual (not bad) for offshore fishing and this week was no different. Although pogy pods have been showing up at the nearshore reefs, the mackerel troll was a little slow for me. I witnessed mackerel attacking baits like a torpedo out of the water this week, but only caught a handful on planers and spoons. Maybe I should have been live baiting with stinger rigs on spinning tackle. Next week I will switch it up and see how it goes. I am starting to become convinced that the bigger kings have seen too many spoons and won’t mess with it. Mangrove snapper are being caught off the bottom, but it takes technique to work these fish. I wasn’t able to get out past 20 miles because I could only fish half days. I hope to go deeper next week.


Inshore things have been mixed, but I have been finding redfish in the flats and will probably continue to all summer. I bought an artificial flats bucktail that mimics a fly, and it seems to be the best bet. Flounder gigging is also productive at the moment. Night fishing at the causeway has favored the incoming tide and slot redfish were caught as well as the occasional snook. Try a quartered crab, or a pinfish but be ready to hook into a couple rays with the pinfish rig. Storms are likely to continue the first half of the week but we should get clearer weather by the weekend. The west wall of the gulf stream is 40nm east on Ponce Inlet. Seas look to remain in the 3-4ft range offshore throughout the week and should trend smaller by the weekend, but please remember NOAA is not always able to be accurate so exercise caution in small boats. Winds look to remain 10-15 knots offshore all week out of the southwest, trending down during the weekend. Say hi if you see me out there, I will be inshore for a few days as my boat needs service already. Good luck and be safe out there.

Sunday June 2- We are already into the first week of June, and the heat is back inshore. Large redfish have been caught under the causeway at night, as well as snook. Try your luck with a live mullet or quartered crab on a #3 khale or circle hook for reds. Snook always love jigs but the pinfish have been hot also. Please take note that keeping snook is illegal June 1-Aug 31. In the lagoon, fish are abundant on flats where you can find some healthy grass, but getting them to eat is a whole different deal. These fish see way too much pressure and it shows. A fly seems to be the best bet. The first hour of daylight can produce some really nice trout, but get on it early. There are spots where I have luck for the last hour of daylight, but try and time it with the outgoing tide for better luck in the river.


I have not gotten a chance to go offshore this week, but I have been watching large eddies of warm water produced by the gulf stream, particularly off the coast of St. Aug. I will be keeping an eye on this water and hope that we get some more sent our way for this upcoming week. The gulf stream is 37 miles east of Ponce Inlet. Seas look to remain in the 2-3 ft range for most of the week, but Tuesday expect seas to jump to 3-4 feet offshore, with winds at 15-20 knots. Seas should trend smaller Wednesday and through the end of the week. We are back to getting afternoon rain storms, so please be safe when avoiding the summer doldrums. Have fun and good luck out there!