Anyone fish offshore on the East Coast of Florida in early spring ? I was thinking about taking the family down on vacation and trailering the boat and try to catch some dolphin before they show up off the coast here. Any info would be greatly appreciated. I want my girls to see the fishing action but at ages 6 and 8 I am not taking them 50-60 miles out here.
I keep my boat in ft pierce, jan/April.
Solid Sails thru jan, then tapering off a bit. Cobia migration starts February along with mahi picking up, Kings and Spanish everywhere , wahoo and Blackfins there, I really never target them.
If it’s blowing, plenty around the bridges for the kids to catch, good Snook if you are like fishing nights.
Also pompano galore up on the flats or surf to keep kids entertained, lots good restaurants accessible by boat.
“East Coast of Florida” is a huge place. What city will you be close to?
Appreciate it dinnertime, I’ve already started checking on motels there. Skinneej,I’m looking anywhere on the East side, would like to get a jump on some dolphin fishing and have my daughter’s there to see it. Thanks for the reply.
2013 Tidewater 230 LXF Yamaha 250
quote:There is a catch 22. The further north you are in Florida, the better fishing is. "Better" meaning "more fish". However, if you want to catch dolphin and bottom fish 3 miles offshore, then you are probably going to be Jupiter or south of that because the continental shelf starts to get very close to shore there. You can literally catch sailfish, dolphin, kings within sight of the beach. As previously said, there is prime sailfishing in South Florida, but it's more of a winter thing. There are sails there year round, just not as concentrated as in the winter. Stuart is considered the sailfish capital.
Originally posted by Soul StealerAppreciate it dinnertime, I’ve already started checking on motels there. Skinneej,I’m looking anywhere on the East side, would like to get a jump on some dolphin fishing and have my daughter’s there to see it. Thanks for the reply.
2013 Tidewater 230 LXF Yamaha 250
If you want to target grouper and snapper, I think the fishing from Jupiter south is pretty poor compared to what we have here. That being said, if you want “action” for kids, it’s not too bad. You can get something to pull your line down there for sure. April would be cobia run and bigger blackfins in south florida. Wahoo, dolphin, sails, kings are caught there that time of the year as well.
Also note that the dolphin in the “Florida Straights” are not the same stock that we see here. SC dolphin come from the Abacos side of the Bahamas. And most of the pelagic fishing down in South Florida is flying goggle eyes on a kite. It’s different fishing. There is a lot of pressure down there and when everyone else is using live bait, it’s tougher to hook fish on a dead bally.
For 6-8 year old girls, my vote would be to grab a charter on the first day so that they can show you the routine. The e