Leave the micro-skiff at home and keep the light-tackle outfits in the garage. If you want to catch bull redfish, think deep water and make sure to bring out the big guns.

The differences between adult and puppy red drum are so vast, you might as well treat the two like different animals. You’ll need to if you want to catch bull reds. Adult redfish lose their endearing adolescent spots, replaced with armor for scales and a caricature mouth only a carp could love. Their demeanor is bullish, using current and mass to fight down-and-dirty. And their meat turns from refined to tough, mirroring their aggressive mentality.

Bull redfish are the “big uglies” TV football commentators always talk about. Although “big ugly” is truly a nickname for a different drum — the black drum. Want to know how to catch these red drum? Conquering them requires sound technique, strength, specialized tactics and a keen eye. Learn how some of the best bull-beaters in the biz stay on top of their game.

Where to Catch Bull Redfish

Bull redfish inhabit waters from Chesapeake Bay through the Gulf of Mexico, making this illustrious species readily available to huge numbers of anglers. Their pervasiveness is outstanding but requires anglers to understand local population habits.

In the Chesapeake, May through September is the optimal time to target big reds in nearshore waters. Giant reds school up in spring outside Hatteras and Ocracoke inlets before moving into Pamlico Sound for the summer spawning season. In fall, those same reds leave en masse and stay along the beaches until water temperatures plummet, pushing them offshore for winter. The Cape Lookout fall run lasts into December and sometimes all through a mild winter.

In Florida, northeast bull redfish start spawning in deeper sections of the St. Johns River during the first big moon in August. In the Gulf, Tampa anglers head to deeper waters near Fort Desoto, off St. Pete, next to the Skyway Bridge and near Egmont Key in fall and early spring. Florida Panhandle action starts right around Halloween and lasts all the way to February, with the most productive time in November and December near the beaches. These large schools of redfish can even be found off the coast of Louisiana and Texas, and range from 500 to 5,000 fish.

Your fishing location will dictate the season to fish, but once you’ve figured out when, and a general where, the task turns to locating the red drum schools.

Find the Hot Spot for Bull Redfish

Locating bull redfish can be difficult, so consider every tool in your arsenal.

“Sometimes I’ll look for indicator species such as cownose rays to lead me to schools of redfish,” says Capt. Tyler Nonn, of Chesapeake Bay, Virginia. “After the fish move out of their early-season patterns, anglers can bottomfish outside the inlets, shoals and ledges in up to 50 feet of water.”

Concentrations of menhaden near drop-offs and ledges of a shoal are a good sign to look for on your bottom machine, especially at the mouth of the Chesapeake. Later in the year, fish can be marked on bottom machines under and around schools of small bluefish or spinner sharks.

“Red drum have a very unique ­signature, much like amberjack,” says Capt. Brian Horsley, of Oregon Inlet, North Carolina. “They will show on your bottom machine as layers, and sometimes they’ll mark diagonally. Deep reds are difficult to target; most anglers actually find them while fishing for something else.”

I had my first run-in with Panama City Beach bull redsyears ago during a paddle-craft media event. Only a few of us had ever fished off the beaches in kayaks, and we were content to target red snapper and groupers with metal flutter jigs. After gathering over good marks on the bottom machine, we dropped down quickly to see what was there. To our surprise, all three of us soon landed 20-plus-pound red drum. That’s when I learned that if you can find the reds bunched up, they’ll eat just about anything.

Redfish in the Panhandle and Tampa areas start to show in strong numbers only when the water temperatures hit the mid-60s, says Capt. John Rivers, who’s fished both areas extensively but now guides in Tampa.

“One easy way to find bull reds is to look for birds diving on the large schools of baitfish that the redfish have pushed to the surface,” says Rivers. “Another way is to have a reliable bottom machine with side imaging that can mark fish when there’s no surface activity.”

In Jacksonville, Capt. Kirk Waltz searches the mouth of the St. Johns River as far upriver as EverBank Field (home of the Jaguars) downtown.

“I begin my search by watching the bottom recorder for distinct breaks on the edges of deep water adjacent to the shipping channel,” says Waltz. “These bottom-contour changes look almost like offshore ledges but can also be sloping drops from deep to shallow water.”

Waltz believes the reds use ledges to block current to conserve energy but also to provide ambush spots as bait washes overhead. Most of these spots are from 29 to 46 feet deep.

Best Lures and Baits for Bull Redfish

Your redfish tackle can make all the difference. The closest thing to a guaranteed bite, especially after locating fish, is to bait with fresh bunker or blue crab on the bottom. Terminal tackle is a simple three-way swivel system — the same rig many anglers use to bottomfish offshore — using 60- to 80-pound ­fluorocarbon, a 5/0 to 7/0 circle hook and a loop to interchange bank sinkers from 6 to 10 ounces.

“I like fresh blue crabs, mullet, pogies or ladyfish chunks,” says Waltz. “Chumming can be very effective. I like to find a spot and deploy four rods using two different baits to see what their preference is. A good soak of 15 to 30 minutes is preferred to allow the scent track to feed back in a light current.”

For the best redfish lures, captains Horsley and Rivers both prefer bucktails ranging from 1 to 8 ounces. “When they are schooled up, they are not too smart and will eat just about anything in their face,” jokes Horsley. Rivers dresses his bucktails with plastics. “I’ll use a 1½-ounce Spro bucktail jig in white, pink or chartreuse with a 4-inch soft-plastic tail,” he says. “Some guys use a plain 1-ounce jig rigged with a 7-inch curly tail.”

What’s the best bull redfish rod and reel? A 7-foot heavy-action rod paired with a 6,000-plus-class spinning reel, spooled with 50-plus-pound braid, is a great setup for any situation in which an angler will encounter bull redfish. Nonn prefers Shimano reels with PowerPro braid, while Waltz uses Penn reels with Berkley braid.

“If the fish are finicky and won’t touch jigs or dead bait, cast out a live bait rigged on a 3/0 circle hook and 40-pound fluoro,” says Rivers. “The [minimalistic] rig catches fish when nothing else will around Tampa Bay.”

Topwater Lures for Bull Redfish

When conditions are right, large schools of reds will hang at the surface in deep water. Each captain I spoke with encountered this behavior, so it’s not location specific.

“When an angler finds an aggregation on top, it’s best to pick off fish from outskirts of the school and try to keep the boat away to avoid putting them down,” says Capt. Tyler Nonn. “Doubles and triples are real possibilities.”

Nonn will cast large soft plastics, such as Hogy Lures, while Horsley and Rivers prefer to work loud surface poppers. “As long as the birds aren’t diving around the large schools, it’s a blast to watch reds fight over and try to smash your plug,” says Rivers.

One sign that bull redfish are around but not necessarily at the surface is the presence of mud balls.

“Reds are famous for attacking schools of bait on the bottom during the spring, and are easily detected by the huge muds under the bait pods,” says Capt. Kirk Waltz. “Catch a few baits from the edges of these schools, and flip them back into the mud balls for quick hookups.”

The post Fishing for Bull Redfish appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

The introduction around two decades ago of small, live croakers as summertime spotted seatrout bait forever changed Texas coastal fishing and ruffled a lot of salty feathers. Croakers breathed fresh life into a formerly rough patch of hot-season trout fishing one livewell or yellow wading bucket at a time. That pulse has grown stronger with every subsequent season. And now, as gauged by the length of pre-dawn lines at bait camps, it may well be a majority of fishermen who proudly embrace their designations as “croaker soakers.”

And why not? They’re the ones catching the most fish through the hottest months. And they were catching all the more spotted seatrout, prime spawners, when the daily limit on trout was still 10 statewide. So many, in fact, that a sagging trout population in the early 2000s, as measured by annual gillnet surveys conducted since 1974, was attributed by many anglers as primarily the fault of little croakers on big hooks.

Finger-pointing occasionally turned into dockside shouting matches and sometimes worse between those who did and those who would never use croakers as bait. That level of confrontation has subsided, thankfully, mostly because the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) enacted countermeasures to repair a substantially broken population.

Texas Trout Numbers Aren’t What They Used to Be

As a test, in 2007, TPWD rolled out a five-fish limit along the lower Texas coast. It worked. In 2014, perhaps a little late, that five-fish bag was extended northward roughly to Matagorda. And in 2019, five fish daily became the rule along all 700-plus miles of Texas coastline.

The latest reduction, to three fish daily statewide against a 15- to 20-inch slot (with a special annual license tag for one over-slot fish that won’t be used often by Texas’ conservation-minded anglers), started this past spring. It came none too soon. From inception, croakers replaced light stringers with easy limits of prime, spawning-class trout. So easy, in fact, that many guides did and still do book two trips daily — sometimes with guaranteed limits. Croakers are that irresistible to speckled trout.

The fate suffered by spawning-class croakers was worse. There are enough, as we see by how many are caught and sold for bait each summer, but relatively few if measured against previous counts. Yesteryear’s croakers routinely weighed 2 pounds. In the dawn of summertime croaker soaking, in 2002, Texas even produced a new state record for the species. That beauty of a beast was 29 inches long and weighed 5.47 pounds. The record stands today, and I’ve neither seen nor heard of a croaker heavier than 3 pounds since.

It’s trout that rule in Texas, though, and the sinking of the croaker population hasn’t drawn many tears. So long as there are enough spawning croakers — perhaps opening a fish-farming opportunity — there will be buyers at any price. Early on, live croakers fetched maybe a quarter each, a little less if you wanted to load the well. Today, with demand on the rise and no comparable alternative, the little baits fetch as much as a dollar per croak.

Bait trawlers love their pay raise. Shorter drags, necessary to keep juvenile croakers alive, burn less fuel. Similarly to how Paul Prudhomme buried a leather-tough bull redfish fillet in rich spices, shrimpers have found a way to turn low-value bycatch into a high-profit commodity.

Refreshed Texas Trout Regulations

Instead of banning the popular bait, as suggested routinely in recent years, TPWD is rebuilding its trout population — in quantity and quality — by common-sense harvest reduction. No closed season, thankfully, but a shorter stringer that shifts from reactive to proactive on enhancement of this precious fishery.

There was a halfway organized movement to have croakers declared gamefish in Texas, the same status enjoyed by trout and reds. It got exactly as far — nowhere — as the idea of banning croakers as bait. Worth noting, requests for input from guides and recreational fishermen prior to writing this story fell mostly on deaf ears. Common goals heal many wounds, especially since Texas trout appear to be on a good track.

The focus now, with a no-nonsense limit in place that can’t help but improve this fishery by every measure, is on enhancement and on an excellent path to success. Even with croakers on every other boat, nearly every boat on some bays, the three-fish daily limit enables Texas trout to increase their population overall, and that top-end slot of 20 inches gives bigger fish the chance to become giants. Collectively, Texas trout fishermen are on board and eager to reap the benefits of their sacrifice.

The post The Great Croaker Debate appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

The exceptional swordfishing off South Florida sometimes gets lost in the hustle and bustle of Miami’s and West Palm Beach’s dazzling lifestyles. But many offshore fishermen want in on the action, and they’re quickly realizing the fishery outshines anything happening on the mainland.

Just miles off the coast are clean blue waters and deep-water humps that attract juvenile and adult swordfish year-round. Even though the swordfish are there, specialized tackle is required to catch them in depths deeper than 1,000 feet.

Before heading out by yourself, consider chartering one of the many exceptional captains that target this deep-water billfish on a regular basis. I asked top pros Capt. Dean Panos and Capt. Jay Cohen to talk about their techniques and experiences offshore. Ever since long liners were kicked out of the Florida Straits, fishermen continue to report increased catches and larger fish on a regular basis. Use the tips below to better prepare for your next trip:

What’s your basic rig for nighttime swordfishing?

Panos: At night, we fish strictly conventional reels. You can go with either 50s or 80s. I use a 2-speed reel and a custom stand up rod with a short bent butt. The reels are loaded with 80-pound monofilament ending with a short double line via a Bimini twist. I then add a 50-foot wind-on leader of 250-pound test. (If fishing strictly IGFA regulations, then the wind-on is cut back to 25 feet.)

At the end of the wind-on is a crimped ball bearing swivel. At the other end of the swivel, we crimp a bait with a short 5-foot section of 250-pound-test monofilament leader. On the wind-on, toward the top, I floss two loops. One is for the weight (usually 32 ounces). The other is 5 feet away from the lead to attach a light.

How many lines do you use at night for swordfishing?

Panos: I fish 5 or 6 rods at night. My first rod is usually a live bait — either a blue runner, goggle eye, tinker mackerel, or speedo. Those are my baits of choice. The live bait is flossed onto a 9/0 J hook. The floss is through the eye cavity, but not through the eye itself. Floss the bait on tightly so the hook doesn’t have room to swing and hook back through the bait.

I drop the first rod down 300 feet. All my rods have floss loops on the line at 100, 200 and 300 feet. At the 300-foot loop, I attach a buoy. On the stick of the buoy. I add Cyalume sticks so I can see the float. I float this rig out at least 150 yards or more.

The second rod is a dead squid rigged with a 9/0 hook and that is dropped down 200 feet, float attached, and floated out about 100 yards. The third bait is a live bait or a dead squid dropped down 100 feet. A float is attached and drifted out about 50 yards.

Next, I fish a “tip” rod in the stern corner with a squid dropped down 300 or 400 feet. The rod tip aims straight off the back corner. (A tip rod is one that does not have a buoy or jug attached to it. The line goes straight from the tip of the rod into the water.) I fish a second tip rod with a live bait down about 100 feet; this is usually hooked with a live bait and is fished off of the bow.

Depending on moon, current and other conditions, I may fish a flatline with only a light, live bait and no lead. I usually fish the flatline when there is no moon and the swords are higher in the water column.

How does daytime swordfishing differ from nighttime trips?

Panos: The daytime fishing is completely different. You basically drop a single bait to the bottom in 1,600 to 1,800 feet of water and reel it off the bottom 50 to 100 feet. The daytime fishery has been better in the past couple of years.

What’s your basic rig for daytime swordfishing?

Panos: For daytime fishing, I prefer to use a Penn Hooker Electric 80 electric/manual combo reel. The Penn Hooker Electric reel has a handle that works both in low and high gear. If you do get a bite, you can manually fight the fish with the handle. On the other hand, the reel also has an electric motor, so if you need to check the bait or relocate, you can use the electric portion of the reel to bring up your rig.

The reel is loaded with 80-pound braid. That is attached to a 150-foot wind-on leader of 250-pound test. At the end of the wind-on, we crimp on a ball bearing swivel. Then, we crimp on our bait that’s on a 5-foot section of 300-pound test and attached to a 10/0 or 11/0 hook.

At the top of the wind-on is a floss loop, which is securely tied to the mono section to ensure it does not slide. I attach a 10- to 12-pound lead weight with a snap onto the floss loop. The lead is tied to 5 feet of 60-pound-test monofilament.

On the wind-on, about 15 to 25 feet from the bait, I use two flashing strobes. These are passed through the line and secured in place with rubber bands. When you do get a fish close to the boat, these lights will slide through the line, allowing you to bring the fish right up to the swivel section. The rubber bands are used to keep the lights from sliding as you drop your bait. I prefer two strobes: one green and the second blue.

The Buoy Rod for Swordfish

Besides the primary “tip” rod, we also use a secondary “buoy” rod. The buoy rod has specific rigging to accommodate the buoy. After letting out 1,600 feet of braided line, we have a wind-on leader rigged, and that’s where the buoy is attached. Some anglers use rigging floss to attach the buoy, but heavy pressures on the buoy and floss can break the connection. So we don’t use the rigging floss.

The downside of the buoy rod is that an angler can’t re-drop or re-deploy the bait, as with the tip rod. But a buoy rod does allow a second bait presentation in a different location than the primary rod. The bait on the buoy sits as high as 600 to 800 feet off the bottom due to currents and boat drift. Let’s say a swordfish is hanging 300 feet off the bottom, it’s likely to eat the bait on the buoy rod.

What are you looking for on the depthfinder when swordfishing?

Panos: In Miami, we fish a drop-off between 1,200 and 1,600 feet of water at night. During the daytime, the depths range from 1,600 to 1,800 feet. This area has a ridge with lots of ups and downs on the bottom that in turn create upwellings and usually hold bait. Bait is usually squid, deep-water sardines and sometimes tinker mackerel. Inshore of the ridge is usually pretty flat bottom and offshore of the ridge it drops off to 2,000 feet.

The key is to keep your bait near the bottom but avoid snagging the bottom. We usually fish offshore of the ridge in areas with less ups and downs on the bottom, but with areas that do have large humps and depressions. You seem to catch more fish in the front and just behind most of the holes or mounds. You need to watch your depth recorder and adjust your bait up and down keeping close to the bottom but avoid snagging the bottom.

What are the top swordfish baits?

Panos: During the day, we use baits that are fairly durable and can withstand a sword’s brutal attack. We often used bonito strips rigged Panama-style with a large skirt over them. We also use dolphin strips, bonito bellies, dolphin bellies, squid tentacles, eels, or dead squid stitched well to the hook.

What’s the average size swordfish caught off South Florida?

Panos: My biggest fish to date is 605 pounds. That was caught during the day. At night, the biggest fish was around 460 pounds. Average size swordfish during the day is 100 to 300 pounds, and average at night is 50 to 200 pounds.

What is your favorite color of swordfish light?

Panos: Although the color of the Lindgren Pitman swordfish lights that we use are really not a factor, I favor blue, green or purple, as well as a tri-color light (blue/green/white) and a two-color light (blue/green) at night.

Backward “Back” Trolling for Swordfish

Cohen: We typically have to fish through the strong Gulf Stream current, so South Florida daytime swordfish fishermen have developed a few specialized techniques. We deploy the rig into the water facing north. As we pay out the, line I will run the boat north at about 10 knots with the current. Once the bait is below the current, about 600 feet down, we stop our forward movement.

Next, we spin the boat around to the south and start heading into the current. The goal is to get the line straight down off the back of the boat. Once we hit the bottom we bring the bait up about 100 feet. Every few minutes we will pay out line to find bottom again, then come back up 100 feet. Sometimes when the current is running fast we will have nearly 3,000 plus feet of line off the reel to hold the bottom in 1,800 feet of water. Eventually you find the “sweet spot,” the amount of line belly that keeps the bait in position.

The ultimate goal is to have the bait trolling just above the bottom at about 1.5 knots. To achieve this we will move the boat south into the current at about 1.5 to 3.5 knots. The net result is the boat and bait will be going north or “backward” at 1.5 knots.

To maintain this all day I like to use my electronics. I will set my chart plotter with a course line and an indicator telling me were I will be in two minutes. This helps me maintain a proper course and speed at a glance. Once I find the right heading that keeps us moving the correct direction against the current and prevailing wind I will engage the autopilot to help maintain course.

The post South Florida Swordfishing Techniques appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

“That thing looks like a lobster,” I said.

“I feel like we should be eating these shrimp, not the fish,” joked Mike Rice, senior vice president at Quantum.

The live shrimp Capt. Jon Lulay had in his livewell were on steroids. He knows a guy. And that bait guy netted some of the largest shrimp I’ve ever seen on Florida’s Space Coast. Those big shrimp were the key to success on our day’s fishing along a stretch of Indian River Lagoon shoreline. If the shrimp are running at night, that’s what inshore gamefish want, so utilize ‘em during the day.

Anglers in the South Atlantic and Gulf Coast should always be on the lookout for “select” live shrimp in bait shops. It’s like having a cheat code.

“Yes, we catch snook, redfish and seatrout on lures too,” said Lulay. “But large shrimp give you the best shot during a moving tide up against the shoreline. If the tide is flowing, I have confidence fish will eat a live shrimp.”

Jumbo shrimp are a top bait anywhere shrimp runs occur. For example, triple-digit tarpon explode on shrimp in the bridge shadow lines of crowded Miami. Louisiana’s largest red drum suck down shrimp under a popping cork when schooled up in Gulf outer bays. And ferocious speckled trout push shrimp to the surface in Texas shallows, attracting both wade fishermen and birds. 

How to Best Rig a Live Shrimp

For many, a frozen piece of shrimp is the first bait they used when fishing in saltwater. That’s not what I’m talking about here. If it’s dead or frozen, rig a new bait. A shrimp-tipped jig has its place, but not in this setting.

When it comes to pitching the banks for species that lurk near mangroves, oysters or fallen trees, keep it simple. Pick a circle hook sized to the fish species you’re targeting. I like a 4/0 circle hook when targeting trout, reds and snook. Tie 30 inches of fluorocarbon leader to your main line, then tie the leader straight to your hook. No sinkers, split shots or popping corks needed.

“You really have to be able to cast into small windows to get that shrimp in front [of the fish],” said Lulay, of 2 Castaway Fishing Charters. “When anglers come on my boat, they can have wildly different experiences. The anglers who can’t make pinpoint casts catch more jacks, ladyfish and mangrove snapper, while the anglers who are able to reach under the mangroves or next to that log are more likely to catch a snook or seatrout.”

In my mind, fishing with live shrimp is just like skipping a weedless fluke under the trees. We were trying out brand-new Quantum Strive and Benchmark reels, sizes 4000 and 5000, paired with 7-foot Quantum Myth rods. The Benchmark 4000 handles 300 yards of 20-pound braid, with 25 pounds of max drag.

“Going with a light leader is a must,” said Lulay. “You lose some fish, but a light leader allows the live shrimp to swim freely with a light-wire hook. I don’t even start the morning with a heavier leader anymore because I know I’ll be going as light as possible soon enough.”

How to Fish Live Shrimp

Getting that natural presentation is more important than a heavy leader, so we used 25- to 30-pound-test fluorocarbon for most of the morning. Paired with a hook that pokes through the top third of the shrimp’s carapace — stay in front of those dark spots — this is the best way to keep a live shrimp kicking. Hitting the dark spot of a shrimp kills it. So does using too large of a hook, or a hook with too heavy of gauge. A dead shrimp is just not as productive, so we rebaited as necessary.

Cast your bait side-arm under the overhangs; utilize a shorter, stout rod for even better accuracy. Then, let the bait drift with the current, with no tension on the line. If you don’t get bit quickly, work the shrimp slowly like a soft-plastic. Get the bite first, then figure out how to get them to the boat.

When a snook picks up your shrimp, the solid thump is unmistakable. Those first few seconds are always a rush against a tight drag. Our fishing tackle held solid, but sharp snags found our leaders at times. That’s the price you pay for fishing in the jungle. The speckled trout cooperated, but it took a couple of breakoffs from unknown behemoths before we finally landed some lindesiders. Tight drags early on, plus a rod with backbone, helped pull fish out. Once away from the shore, there were also pesky porpoises looking for a free meal.

We had a blast fishing in the morning before the tide quit on us. The action was solid, and Rice and I even cast some baits at rolling tarpon. Common with tarpon during the day, they had no interest in feeding. At one point, I hooked up near a pod of school-size tarpon — nope, it turned out to be another snook. The few boats around us weren’t having much luck.

“They’re probably fishing with live baits like croakers,” explained Lulay. “Those baits can be great sometimes, but they’re not going to outfish a jumbo live shrimp.”

The post Make Mine a Jumbo appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Mullet

King of the inshore baitfish, different mullet species are a favorite food for everything from striped bass to tarpon. Mullet connoisseurs prefer individuals that feed over sandy bottom for the finest bait. Apparently, they taste better to gamefish (and even anglers).

Mud Minnows (aka Mummichog)

The hardy little killifish is a great bait for flounder, redfish and speckled trout. Easy to catch in a small mesh trap, the minnows will stay alive for hours in the bottom of a cardboard box covered with a blanket of wet newspaper.

Herring

These come in different varieties. It could be threadfin herring in Florida. Or maybe it’s blueback herring or shad species farther north. No matter where you fish, herring are a likely baitfish worth using or imitating. Some herring species travel into fresh waters, making them great options for heavyweight catfishing too.

Atlantic Menhaden

They have been called the most important inshore fish as an essential part of the food chain and a powerful water filter. Menhaden start their life in the marsh where they feed the next generation of gamefish. Too small to use as live bait, the small, silver menhaden are imitated by dozens of twitch baits, soft plastics and swimming plugs.

Scaled Sardines (aka Pilchards or Greenbacks)

Sardines school up into living clouds of little fish providing a reliable source of food for all types of inshore gamefish. Whether used live, frozen or imitated with all sorts of lures, greenies are a best bet. Scaled sardines are known to spawn offshore and are especially popular on the Southwest coast of Florida.

The post Five Baitfish Species You’ll Find in the Marsh appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

The lexicon used to describe where anglers fish is confusing, even frustrating. “Inshore” or “coastal” often describes fishing in estuarine waters, at least in my stomping grounds, where fishermen target species like speckled trout, redfish, and flounder in rivers, creeks, and bays. In the Northeast, an “inshore tuna bite” might be 10 miles offshore.

“Offshore” fishing begins once you leave the inlet and make a run for blue water. However, offshore fishing is not dependent on the length of the run to the fishing grounds or how deep the water is — offshore fishing might start just a couple of miles (at ports such as South Florida, Panama or the Bahamas) or hours off your coast.

Even with those broad designations, the fish don’t always cooperate. There are no fences in the salt, so inshore species often leave inside waters for the Gulf and Atlantic. Usually these movements coincide with spawning rituals, an exciting time of year to target oversize specimens, at least for catch-and-release fishermen. So the next time you want to catch a trophy species, consider heading out of brackish areas and into open waters. Think differently on your next trip — consider it a role reversal — and you could score the “inshore” fish of a lifetime offshore.

Catch Snook on Nearshore Wrecks

South Florida fishermen regularly target snook up rivers, on mangrove-lined flats, and in passes and inlets. But not many know that offshore wrecks attract snook each summer, starting as early as late spring.

“My favorite spots average about 5 miles offshore, in anywhere from 20 to 60 feet of water,” says Capt. Glyn Austin, of Sebastian, Florida. “Most people don’t really target them because it’s all catch-and-release fishing June through August. Most people want kingfish or cobia, something they can take home.” Austin says all the fish are all longer than the 32-inch slot maximum, so the oversize linesiders can’t be kept no matter if the season is open or closed.

“Typically I use the same tackle at the wrecks as at the inlets,” says Austin, “a 7- to 8-foot rod, 20- to 40-pound braid, and baits like threadfin herring and pogies.” Austin fishes mostly from Port Canaveral to Sebastian, but snook exhibit the same behavior farther south on both Florida coasts around barges and reefs. “The snook are definitely attracted to structure and hang on the bottom,” says Austin. “We often catch giant jack crevalle, goliath grouper, cobia, redfish, black drum and flounder out there, along with the snook. That’s plenty of species that we see both inshore and offshore.”

Deep Water Flounder Fishing

Heading north along the Atlantic Coast, a different inshore species replaces snook around offshore structure. And this species is available from Florida to the mid-Atlantic states: flounder.

“In spring and especially fall, flounder are available in 60 to 85 feet of water out of St. Augustine and Mayport inlets, about 6 to 15 miles offshore,” says Capt. Stephen Szczepanik, of Mayport, Florida. “Those offshore fish just taste so much better than the inshore fish; it must be something about the sandy bottom they’re sitting on.”

Szczepanik has learned over the years that flounder are more likely to hang near metal structure, such as barges, instead of concrete rubble. The flounder group together in masses around the base, likely preparing or concluding their spawn. Still, Szczepanik admits that most of the flounder he catches and fillets don’t have roe.

“Offshore, an average fish is at least 22 inches and 3 pounds,” he says, “but 8-pound fish are also pretty common. Inshore, an 8-pound flatfish is an uncommon catch.”

One top tactic is vertically jigging a live mullet with a 1-ounce jig, making sure the line stays tight. He specifically shies away from stinky artificials because they attract undersize black sea bass and beeliners (vermilion snapper). Szczepanik prefers to use 20-pound-braid main line for its toughness and ability to cut through the water. Once you hook into a couple of flounder, chances are there are plenty more in the same spot.

“The best days are when it’s flat calm, and you can use a trolling motor to stay on top of the spot,” says Szczepanik. “Mark the structure with your finder, and then throw out a jug to mark the wreck.”

Stripers Near the Beach

Role Reversals

What happens when the biggest inshore fish are off-limits offshore? Chesapeake Bay captains deal with this every winter when targeting monster striped bass.

“In past years, cold winters pushed the bait off the beaches 10 to 15 miles, taking the stripers with them,” says Capt. Jake Hiles, of Virginia Beach. “But because striped bass are designated game fish in federal waters, fishermen can’t target striped bass, even for catch-and-release, in the Exclusive Economic Zone (more than 3 nautical miles offshore).”

The ocean season for migratory stripers ranges from about mid-December to February. Late February into March, the migratory striped bass head up Chesapeake Bay to spawn in the rivers, says Andrew Turner, a fisheries biologist with NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay office. Late May and June see the fish head north of New York to Maine to summer in the cool waters, usually within 3 miles of shore. Over the past couple of seasons, many Virginia anglers have not seen good numbers of stripers like they used to, whether that’s because of migration changes or increased fishing pressure.

When warm winters bring baitfish schools and mature stripers within a mile or two of the beach, Capt. Herb Gordon fishes the eastern shore of Virginia.

“You have to find the birds to find the fish,” says Gordon. “Finding birds is easy with the use of a good radar, one at least 6 kW. The bottom machine helps, but it’s not as dependable as birds. Some areas with structure always hold bait, which in turn, hold fish.”

Gordon usually trolls just four rods, while some of the other charter boats troll as many as 20. “On our rigs, we use double parachutes, 9 ounces each, with rubber 9-inch shads,” he says. “Our lines are staggered to fish different depths, and we also vary our trolling speeds.”

For anglers fishing in and around the mouth of the Chesapeake, it’s a matter of finding rockfish before they head too far offshore.

The post Where to Catch Trophy Inshore Fish appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

New Jersey Black Drum Fishing Spots

Black drum traditionally spawn around the full and new moons in April, May, and June, when the tides are super high, to allow for better chances of cross-pollination of the sperm and eggs. The full moon in April saw an unusual presence of hundreds, if not thousands, of black drum entering the relatively shallow Barnegat Bay system. The parade of drum provided incredible back-bay battles for boaters setting up on a clam chumslick, as well as dock and pier anglers tangling with drum pushing the 50- to 60-pound mark. This Barnegat Bay drum fishery was missing in recent history.

Fast forward to the May full moon and things got even weirder. The surfline from the barrier island at Island Beach State Park down through Long Beach Island was flooded with roving packs of big black drum pushing 30 to 75 pounds, offering up even more big game battles from the beach.

Black Drum Fishing Tackle

For surf fishing, rods and reels must be capable of handling these brutes. I employ a 12-foot Shimano Tiralejo rod matched with a Shimano 14000 Ultegra reel spooled with 50- to 65-pound PowerPro braided line. At the tag end, I attach a size 2 three-way swivel, a sinker clip with a 3- to 5-ounce pyramid sinker, and the last eye gets a 24-inch section of 50-pound fluorocarbon leader. For a hook, I snell on a size 10/0 Gamakatsu Big River bait hook.

In the surf, anglers are bait fishing with clams, so a super sturdy metal sand spike driven deep into the beach is needed to prevent your rod and reel setup from being stolen. Baits are simple. A whole fresh gob of shucked clam is pierced on the hook three or four times, then cast out into a deep cut or slough where the drum are feeding.

Best Tactics for Black Drum

The key to success is timing the tides. Your best bets are to fish around the high tides, generally two hours before and two hours after the dead high tide. Deep waters allow for the barrel-chested warriors to enter close to the surf line. Light to moderate 5 to 15 knot easterly onshore winds are preferred as they push water and schools of drum up onto the beaches. Add some north or west into the wind direction and achieve similar success. Main spots where drum feed are deeper holes, but also the inside and outside of the sandbars. The drum are searching for clams and crabs getting washed over the bars.

Once hooked to a big drum, hold on tight. Let them dictate the terms of the fight as the initial run is long and sustained. Surprisingly, they put up quite a tussle as they use their big broom-tails to power away from the shoreline. Expect them to surface and boil up trying to shake the hook. The end game is critical in the undertow of the surf. Don’t freak out and pull on the line hard, as the drum will use their weight on the receding waves to try and snap your line. Time the wave patterns and reel in when they get pushed up onto the sand with a crashing wave, then run down and grab the drum by the mouth or gill plate to land it effectively.

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The surf zone is a wild arena. Completely different environments span the Northeast to the Carolinas all the way to Florida. Texas and California are distinct too. But anglers who prowl the beaches know some surf rigs can be ubiquitously applied. Still, the many different options available might confuse those who don’t understand their applications. And surf spots in different states sometimes have different names for the same rigs. As a diehard New Jersey surf caster, I want to help you pick the best rigs for your favorite species. The hi-lo rig, pill float rig, fishfinder rig, chunk rig, and mullet rig are some my favorites for stripers, redfish and pompano, even sharks.

The Hi-Lo Surf Rig

Quick Summary: Why have one hook when you can have two? Joking aside, there’s more to the logic of a hi-lo rig (dropper loop rig) than just having another hook. The hi-lo rig, sometimes spelled high-low rig, is meant to cover the waters just off the sea floor, anywhere bottom fish are feeding. Even one foot can make a difference to get bites when targeting true bottom feeders or to convince wary fish to swim up and eat a bait. Bait with worms, clams, shrimp, crabs or small chunk baits. (You can also use the rig when fishing bridges or piers — just space out the hooks accordingly.)

Design: Use a 75-pound barrel swivel and 30-inch section of leader. Tie the two dropper loops 16 inches apart in the leader. Pick appropriate size hooks scaled to the fish species you’re targeting, then thread the hooks on to the dropper loops. Tie a loop knot to the opposite end of the leader that you tied the swivel. A loop knot allows you to easily attach and remove a weight for different conditions. In the surf, pyramid sinkers work the best to hold bottom.

Species: Surf stripers, snapper, grouper, black sea bass, rockfish, tautog

The Fishfinder Slide Rig

Quick Summary: The fishfinder rig is meant to allow feeding fish to pick up a natural bait without feeling any unnatural resistance. The lack of tension helps prevent a gamefish from spitting out the offering. Try this setup when using live baits such as bunker (menhaden), mullet, eels, pilchards, sandworms or bloodworms. You can also use chunk baits or fresh clams as well. Besides the surf, good spots to use fishfinder rigs include inlets or creeks when the tide is running. Anglers should free-spool the line and allow a fish to take it unhindered in the current for a natural presentation.

Design: Utilize a fishfinder slide with sinker clip to attach a pyramid or bank-style sinker, or you can substitute an egg sinker for the slide clip. I prefer to use a 75-pound barrel swivel to prevent the sliding weight from reaching the hook. To the swivel, tie on 20 to 30 inches of leader and a snelled hook.

Species: Fluke, southern flounder, striped Bass, red drum, cobia, sheepshead

The Pill Float Rig

Quick Summary: Use this rig to keep the baits floating off the bottom to prevent crabs from stealing your baits. Sandfleas, worm bits and clam bits are great natural baits. Artificial offerings such as Fishbites, Fishgum and Gulp Saltwater Surf Bytes work too. Targets are generally smaller fish species up to 4 pounds. Or use the rig to procure live baits such as grunts and pinfish for the livewell. One other spot this rig excels: fun fishing along bridges and piers.

Design: A hi-lo rig design, except with small Styrofoam pill shaped floats in front of the size number 4 to 8 bait-holder hooks.

Species: Pompano, whiting (northern kingfish), white perch, grunts, pinfish

The Chunk Rig

Quick Summary: Tie on the chunk rig when targeting larger gamefish and you want to throw big baits. Use chunk baits such as menhaden, bluefish, cut mullet, pinfish, grunts or herring. A long leader allows bigger fish to pick up the bait and swim off. Then, an angler can and should reel tight for an effective hook-set. This is a great all-around rig when casting from the shoreline targeting different species. Just about everything eats chunk baits, except maybe those few crab-crunchers.

Design: Tie on a three-way swivel, with a sinker clip attached to one eye to handle a pyramid weight. The other eye receives a 30-inch piece of 40- to 80-pound mono leader. A snelled circle hook, scaled accordingly from 5/0 to 12/0, ensures solid hook sets.

Species: Sharks, striped bass, bluefish, drum, snook

The Mullet Rig

Quick Summary: Specifically designed to throw fresh or frozen mullet, this rig allows the whole bait to be fished in a natural manner. The mullet floats just above the sandy seafloor in an enticing display to attract feeding gamefish. Also, the float keeps your bait off bottom where crabs can pick it apart.

Design: For this rig, I use an oval Styrofoam float built-in with a 4-inch length of wire, ending with a dual-barb hook. To bait this rig, remove the hook first. Thread the mullet on the wire from the mouth down through the body out the anal vent. Then, reattach the hook back to the metal leader. Make sure one barb is pierced into the side of the tail. Tie your floating mullet to a length of leader that connects to a three-way swivel. Connect your swivel to the main line. The third leg gets a sinker clip and weight.

Species: Striped Bass, bluefish, red drum, sharks

The post Top Bait Rigs for Surf Fishing appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

There are dozens of species of crabs in North American coastal waters, from the eraser-size Florida mole crab to giant Alaskan king crabs that won’t fit in a washtub. All of them have in common that at some stage of their lives, they are high on the list of edibles for local game fish.

How to Fish with Crabs for Tarpon

In Florida, there’s no better spring and summer tarpon bait than the “pass crabs” that drift through the west coast passes by the thousands from April through July. They max out around 4 inches across the carapace, and have well-developed swimming legs on the back of their shell.

Catching pass crabs is straightforward; get out on the early part of an outgoing tide near one of the passes, find a rip stacked up with grass, foam and debris, and dip-net the drifting crabs. You can also sometimes find them along the beaches at dawn when an onshore wind has stacked grass along the shore.

Fishing with crabs as bait allows you to target a plethora of species. These crabs, candy for both tarpon and permit, also are tasty tidbits for redfish and snook — as well as cobia, which are known as “crab eaters” in some areas for good reason.

Fishing with Blue Crabs

From Virginia to Texas, the blue is abundant and easy to catch with a trap you can hang off any dock — a piece of mullet or chicken neck draws them in. Small blues, to 4 inches across, make the best live baits. Cobia love them, and so do big redfish and drum. You can also do well cutting larger crabs in half, particularly for redfish and big black drum.

How to Fish with Fiddler Crabs

These little crabs found on muddy shorelines, and around oyster bars and backcountry creeks, are wonderful bait for pompano, permit, sheepshead and redfish.

To catch them, take a tip from the pros and conduct a “crab roundup.” Make a sort of funnel from strips of plywood about six inches tall and eight feet long, stood on edge with a couple of stakes to hold them in place. Sink a 5-gallon bucket into the sand at the small end of the funnel, then herd the crabs into the funnel.

Other Types of Crab Baits Crabs

Sand fleas — actually mole crabs — rate as a favorite of many fish, particularly pompano on the beach. Snook eat them too. Sand-flea rakes are available at tackle shops in most beach communities. Sieve the sand at the surf line where you spot the diminutive crabs.

Throughout the tropics, hermit crabs are a favorite permit bait. The crabs are slow and easy to catch along any beach or coral edge. When you need fresh bait, pull them out of their shell and bait up — it’s a rare permit that can pass one up.

Black mangrove crabs swarm the roots of mangrove trees all over peninsular Florida. About the size of a 50-cent piece, they are the right size for reds, sheepshead and pompano. Put a piece of cut bait on the mud next to mangrove roots or seawalls at low tide, and set a cardboard box soaked in salt water atop it. The crabs will soon find the bait. They’ll stay put under the box long enough for you to scoop them up — without the box, they’ll run off before you can get close enough to capture them.

How to Keep Your Crabs Alive

Most species of swimming crabs do fine in a flow-through livewell; remove the pincers so they don’t kill each other or get your fingers when you scoop them up. Keep semi-aquatic crabs like fiddlers and hermits for several days by simply placing them in wet seaweed in a 5-gallon bucket.

How to Fish with Crabs

Fish live crabs on a short-shank 3x-strong hook matched to the quarry. For tarpon and cobia, a 5/0 or 6/0; for permit and slot reds, a 2/0 to 3/0. For small crabs, such as fiddlers when you’re after pompano and sheepshead, use a size 1 or 1/0. For the tiny mole crab, a light wire hook in size 1 or 2 is the ticket for pompano. Hook all these crabs through one of the points in the shell, coming up from below. Twist the hook so the point drills through the carapace without cracking it. Check the hook point after the bait is in place; on large baits like blues, the shell can sometimes slightly turn the point.

Crab Lure Imitations

Among artificial lures, find a bait that looks so much like the real thing that you expect it to attack with waving claws — is a great alternative to live crabs in moving water. In soft plastics, Z-Man, D.O.A., Berkley Gulp! and Savage Gear are good, among others.

The big thing in fishing an artificial is to resist the temptation to fish crab lures like a jig; that’s about five times too fast. Use scented baits for sight-fishing. Toss them slightly ahead of tailing reds or drum, twitch a few times to get the fish’s attention, and then let the built-in scent do the rest. Ditto for tarpon: Land the bait well in front of them, let it drift down on their nose, and hang on tight.

The post Fishing With Crabs as Bait appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

If inlets and passes are the main thoroughfares for game fish to and from the ocean, jetties represent that one exit with all the restaurants. Rocky breakwaters are a veritable buffet table for species like striped bass, flounder and redfish. Even with pesky boat traffic, ocean swells and nearby shoals, these pervasive fishing structures remain popular for boat and shore fishermen. I went to five experts to learn how they avoid common jetty blunders and out-fish their close-quarter compatriots. In return, they supplied jetty fishing tips detailing how to fish jetties successfully.

Don’t Let Your Presentation Stray from the Rocks When Inlet Fishing

Capt. Alan Pereyra, of Topp Dogg Guide Service in Galveston, Texas, targets the jetties of the Galveston Ship Channel all year long for a variety of species. The Ship Channel is one of three cuts into the Galveston system, the other two being Rollover and San Luis passes.

“In the summer we’ll catch redfish, speckled trout, sheepshead, black drum, Spanish mackerel and sharks when jetty fishing,” he says. “My most important advice is to fish as close to the rocks as possible. The top trout and upper-slot redfish that win local tournaments all hang close to the rocks.”

Depending on the tide strength, Pereyra might use a kayak anchor in light current to hold the boat in place. “For heavy current,” he says, “I’ll drop a Danforth boat anchor 20 to 30 feet from rocks, then let [rode] out to position the back of the boat close to the rocks for my customers.”

Once at the rocks, he’ll use light setups with live shrimp for a natural presentation for his jetty fishing rigs. “I want the bait to flutter down toward the bottom as it flows with the current,” says Pereyra. “Crankbaits designed for bass and cast close to rocks work too, as long as they have a lip to dive down.”

Don’t Handcuff Yourself to a Single Bait Species When Jetty Fishing

Having a variety of baitfish in the livewell can be paramount to enticing the bite, says Capt. Jared Simonetti of Clearwater, Florida. He regularly fishes the passes from Anclote Key to the Skyway Bridge for snook in the summer months.

“Snook stage at jetty locations closer to land, all the way to the tip of the jetty, depending on the tide,” he says. “The incoming tide brings in the clear Gulf water, while the outgoing tide often carries dirty water. The best tide for jetty fishing is a tide that’s moving— slack tide turns off the bite”

When fishing clean water, Simonetti prefers large, lively threadfin herring and scaled sardines as his best baits for jetty fishing.

“During the incoming tide, I’ll use leader as light as 30-pound-test and free-line the baits along the jetty,” he says. “I cast up-current, let the bait pass through the strike zone on top, and then recast. I don’t want to drag the baits behind the boat, and I’ll even replace threadfins with new ones after a couple of casts.”

On the outgoing tide, he switches to grunts and pinfish in the dirty water.

“These baits I send to the bottom using weighted rigs with heavier 50- to 60-pound leader,” he says. Simonetti wants the resilient baits to get down to the staging snook when the water visibility drops.

Some of the Best Lures for Jetty Fishing are Jigs

“I call it the best rock pile on the coast,” says Capt. Trevor Smith of ProFishNC Charters, referencing Masonboro Inlet’s pair of jetties. The Wrightsville, North Carolina, captain has a unique technique for inlet fishing when he doesn’t want to mess with live bait or anchoring.

“On the last two hours of the outgoing, when the bait dumps out with the backwater tide, I’ll use 3- to 4-ounce 5-inch-long metal jigs,” says Smith. “Twenty feet off the rocks, in waters from 28 to 35 feet, I’ll work that jig near the bottom, and the redfish and cobia pick it up.”

Red drum and cobia are available in the springtime, with May to June hot for cobia, says Smith. August to October brings an influx of bull reds.

“I use 4-ounce jigs with UV glow and single hooks or 4X trebles,” he says, “paired with 60-pound braid and 40- to 60-pound fluorocarbon leader.” Metal jigs aren’t just for offshore; utilize them at favorite inlets.

Don’t Fish the Same Spot Along the Inlet

Capt. Dave Kostyo, based in North Miami, works the tides around South Florida’s Government Cut and Haulover Inlet for tarpon most months of the year.

“The outgoing is my best tide for jetty fishing,” says Kostyo. “Cast toward the jetties while drifting parallel. Raise the rod tip slowly and then lower it down to impart action on the bait. Make sure to keep the bait near the bottom.”

Kostyo doesn’t like to anchor, because doing so can drown his baits, and heavy wind and cargo-ship wakes can push boats toward the rocks. He fishes both sides of the jetty rocks but moves outside the cut onto the beach side when the tide really picks up.

“There’s much less current on the outside,” he says. “It’s much safer, and you can fish from the tip of the jetty down toward the beach.”

Top baits include blue runners, mullet and horse-size threadfin herring. When the bite stops at the inlets, he heads to the bridges of Biscayne Bay for the night bite.

Don’t Stop Fishing the Jetties When the Sun Goes Down

Delaware’s Inner Wall and Outer Wall skirt Cape Henlopen at the southern cape of Delaware Bay. The Harbor of Refuge Light sits atop the outer breakwater, while the East End Light marks the inner breakwater. Along with a set of rock outcroppings near the Outer Wall, called the Ice Breakers, the breakwaters provide abundant habitat for monster striped bass.

Capt. Chuck Cook, of First Light Charters in nearby Lewes, Delaware, heads to these hot spots when the moon shines bright at night. “Bluefish take over in the evening and morning hours, but it’s a 100 percent striped bass bite at night,” he says. “Before heading out, fish the area during the day to be familiar with your rocky surroundings.” Cook recognizes that stripers feed heavily at night, and odd hours are sometimes necessary to target them. He fishes parallel to the walls along a drop that’s 37 feet deep, but keeps his engine running to steer away from the rocks.

“Lures such as MirrOlures, Bombers or Berkley eels in dark colors show up best at night,” he explains. “A dark green pine tree shows better against a twilight skyline than a white birch. It’s the same effect with the water’s surface and moonlight at night.”

That’s right, some of the best lures for jetty fishing at night are painted in dark colors. It seems counterproductive, but the results speak for themselves.

Fish the Jetties First Before Fishing Other Nearshore Rocks

The San Diego Bay jetty is home to big calico bass, sand bass and halibut. Yet anglers run past the familiar rocks to nearby islands and beaches to target the same species.

“The best boat to fish the jetty is one with a trolling motor,” says Capt. Alan Clowers of San Diego. “Boat handling is vital to position oneself to get your lure in the right spot, tight to the rocks.”

Jetties are fish attractors, pure and simple, and Clowers casts red skirted jigs for the calicos.

“The sand bass will be outside the rocks,” he says. “Swimbaits or a sardine rigged to a Carolina rig works well. The halibut hanging with the sand bass prefer a live anchovy.”

If the jetty bite is slow, Clowers heads inside to the channels and back bays for bass, bonefish and shortfin corvina. You don’t have to run outside Mission and San Diego bays to find fish.

The post How to Fish Jetties appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.