Ed Killer, the fishing editor for Scripps Howard Publishing, has done a fabulous job of following the recent meetings of the ‘powers that be’ in South Atlantic Fisheries Management. These National Marine Fisheries bureaucrats are tasked with assessing ‘and’ understanding (?) the complexities of the various fish species populations, the fishing pressure on that species and ultimately dictating appropriate policy with regard to both commercial and recreational fishing regulations in U.S. waters and along our shores.
I know that many Treasure Coast Anglers followed these proceedings held at the Marriot Hotel in Stuart in early June and we should all be ready for pending regulations that could curtail or at the very least, severely limit offshore fishing for snapper, grouper and tilefish in our area. Hats off to Ed Killer for keeping us all well informed on the meeting and for his articulate and insightful articles relating to the South Atlantic Fisheries Marine Council’s impact on one of Florida’s premier attractions, ‘saltwater angling’!
Well, enough of that, let’s talk fishing! How about this cobia bite in mid June? Ever seen anything like it? Schools of up to 12 or 15 cobia have been sighted swimming on or near the surface in twenty to fifty feet of water. What a thrill it is to sight cast to these fish and be less than a mile from shore. In this particular instance there were so many fish being caught that it was not a secret for long and word traveled fast. In the last four days many anglers have had their shot at one of Florida’s most sought after species. The thrill of the chase, a cobia’s extremely aggressive ‘bite and fight’, and their top notch food value combine to make cobia one of my very favorite species!
This cobia migration has also been evident in deeper water and extends out to the offshore bar in 90 feet of water where the fish are more apt to bite on a deep troll or come up off the bottom when attracted by fishing activity in their area. As far as I know the bite is still on and hopes of a continued presence of the illustrious cobia are high on my list of scenarios for tomorrow’s charter, and the next day’s and…..well you get it; after all, fishermen are dreamers at heart.
July’s fishing will be all about calm seas and more of Florida’s delightful humidity (keeps your skin from drying out, right?) The kingfish bite should be relatively steady on the offshore bar but the fish do move north and south on occasion so be prepared to pick up and run up to the NE Grounds or back to the south if you don’t find them chomping your live bait at one particular location.
The early summer sailfish bite has been better than I remember and don’t be surprised to find them in the vicinity of the king bite on the bar. We have caught and released several sails from 75’ out to 380’ in the last couple of weeks.Free jumpers have been a common sight in early June and are always a good indicator of where to stop and put out your lines.
Catch ‘em up; I’ll see you out there! Capt Tris
(Contributed by Capt Tris Colket)
