Similar report to Aquasport’s 5/11/16 report. Started high speed trolling for wahoo at about 6 AM at 160 ft near Deli and got a hit within minutes. After a long fight we expected a Wahoo to come up but instead a 30+ lb Mahi shows up. Thats a first for me. Put out a full spread and picked at them the rest of the day. Ended with 9 Mahi in 20-35 Lb range, 2 cut offs (we fished 80 lb flouro on 4 lines in hopes of some Tuna but no luck, so a couple of Mahi bit through the leader) one a daymaker Mahi, a shark, and about 5 short strikes. Most action was at rips and temp breaks/color changes between 260 and 400 ft. Saw a mate swimming with one we had hooked, was getting ready to cast to it and the bucktail jig just touched the water as I was opening the bail and it hit it before I even had a chance to cast. Fun! Ride out and back at 30+, really laid down in the afternoon.
Of note we saw not one single sargassum weed or weed of any kind for that matter. Saw exactly 3 flyers. It was weird! Anyone know what is going on with that?
Finally hats off to a great crew and thanks to Ed for buying this trip at auction and supporting Junior Sailing of Beaufort. Hope we can do it again soon!
As to your flyer/weed question, I’ve noticed year after year for probably the last 15 years that we see less and smaller weedlines. Especially fishing around the Georgetown Hole. I can remember working weedlines back in the early 2000s pretty consistently that were miles long and 50-100ft wide. Back in 2008 there was a strong East wind for a week or so that pushed blue water in way over the break and that was the last time I fished heavy weed patches off our coast. We were also covered in petrels and they were a raging pain in the ass on our spread. I’m hoping this is just a change in Gulfstream flow over the years and not a biological problem of Sargasso weed dying out.
We’ve only fished two trips this year but all fishing has been around suspended bait in 200-400ft. I have yet to see a flyer offshore this May. (All between GTH and Scarp)
Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish.
A google search on “sargassum weed problem” results in many articles about excessive sargassum on beaches in the Caribbean in 2015. So looks like it is thriving and then some but not reaching us. Last season I fished weed lines on every trip and in some cases found some textbook weedlines and fishing. Flyers were also everywhere. I have been at this since 2008 and this is the first time I have seen the no weeds, no flyers conditions. I am hoping someone has an explanation that’s not linked to some ecological disaster.
Aquasport - agreed. I find a steady and light south breeze is ideal for stacking up the weeds on the current rips and part of the reason I liked yesterday as we had several back to back days of a light south breeze. Even when I have gone out and conditions are not ideal weeds are scattered, but never have I seen not one single weed.
I looked up wind direction over the past week and it did have a strong westerly component from 5/4 to 5/9 running between 200 and 300 degrees so maybe during that 5 day run all the weeds got blown out to the east side of the stream. Could be that simple, hope it is that simple.
Running out to the ledge further south two weeks ago we saw tons of flyers but it was warmer water down at the triple ledge so maybe just a temp thing. We also found a few mile long weed line at 150 ft mid day after many boats had headed back in. It was the first weed line that we found all day.
Anyone headed out this saturday or sunday? I can’t make up my mind which day will be better. Looks like the seas are predicted slightly lower sunday but the wind is turning out of the north.
Fished a current line with a thin line of weeds along the break for miles and miles on Monday in 1000+ ft of water. 80.6 and blue on one side, 78.8 and green on the other. Tons of flyers on the blue side and not a single one on the green. We must have followed the rip for no less than 15 miles. It was crazy. Not unusual, but still cool to see. Smashed the dolphin on the warm side and couldn’t buy a bite on the cool side.
21’ Maverick Master Angler
“There’s a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning” -J. Buffett
Gentleman…it is very important to note that there is a commercial harvest of Sargasso weed. I am not sure exactly what is done with it on a commercial level but it is definitely being harvested. Last year I read a SAFMC update discussing the commercial harvest of it being closed early or something similar. In line with what Touche and others said…there seems to me to be much less current in the last few years. 3 different overnight trips last year in deep water were seemingly dead calm…the boat hardly moved. The Sargasso has definitely disappeared but probably a combination of over harvest and current/wind changes that aren’t consistently pushing it to stack up how it used to. The weather patterns that defined our 4 seasons were much more predictable 10 years ago. It was abnormal to have a SW wind in the dec or jan and now the wind switches so often all year long. The changing earth cycles are clearly affecting all these things. It sucks though. To me…dolphin fishing is all about big weediness and defined current edges with fish stacked up…rather than scattered fishing with 10-15 fish for a whole day. Who knows…
I’ve shagged more than my fair share of grass here in the passed 5 years. I don’t think there is anything behind it. Right place right time. Saw some killer weed lines last year this time of year.
