Near Shore and Offshore Fishing

The coldwater upwellings during July and August make forecasting offshore of East Central Florida an "iffy" proposition.  

Many species will not follow their normal feeding patterns when deep water readings turn colder. 

We have had summers when cobia have followed the sardines, blue runners and other baitfish into warm water pockets just north of the Port Canaveral buoy line into 30 or 40 feet of water.  This provides for a bonanza that can last from a few days to weeks until the water gets dirty. 

The upwellings have pushed sailfish and grouper from their deep water haunts to within casting range of the jetties and well within small craft range.  

If the cold water does not interfere with normal feeding patterns during July, we can expect some great fishing for King Mackerel, Tarpon, and grouper.

Right now the 21 and 27 fathom ridges and the opalina coral ridge locally known as "the cones" in 250 of water are producing nice catches of Gag Grouper.

The multitude of wrecks between 120 and 240 feet of water  are also producing good catches in our area.

The shallow waters between Ponce Inlet and Port Canaveral are also producing surprisingly larger groupers.

Pinfish, grunt, and chunk baits like bonito, grunt, and barracuda work well as do vertical jigs; but most of the grouper fishermen have been using a 10 to 24 oz. nylon hair jig with some sort of glow paint or a glow skirt to make them more visible at those depths.

Most of the grouper being caught right now are running anywhere from 18 to 25 pounds, with some fish upward of 40  pounds.
 
The king mackerel have returned this past week to our area in a big way.  The larger fish upward of 20 pounds are cruising inside the 65 foot mark with blue runners, pogies, and sardines being the top three baits that anglers have been using on stinger rigs for slow trolling. 

Pink and chartreuse colored C&H king busters, or the Hookup Lures live bait duster skirts by Blue Water Candy also worki well if you are trolling in the slightly dirty waters just off of the beach.

The reefs and wrecks in 70 to 90 feet of water offshore have been producing slightly smaller fish in the 10 to 20 pound range, but they are much more numerous.

If you like fishing the near shore waters of our region,  you are in for some great shark fishing this month.  

Spinner sharks, black tips, golden duskies and sharpnose shark are just a few of the species you will run into if you are slow trolling or drifting in the 15 to 50 foot depths, or closer inshore.

Wire leaders or 100 pound plus fluorocarbon tied to a single hook is is all that's needed as terminal tackle.  Any fresh chunk of bonito, barracuda or other oily or bloody fish should get you hooked up.
Barring any hurricanes, the big boats will be making their long trips east of the Gulf Stream in search of Yellowfin Tuna.  The run is at least 80 or 90 miles depending on where the Gulf Stream is located, but the fishing is reliable through September.  I would give my eye teeth to make that run!
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Surf Fishing

All you have to do is dip your toe into the surf line to tell whether or not summer snook are here. 

If the water temperatures are moderate along the five mile stretch of submerged worm rock and coquina reef between Satellite Beach and Indialantic, the snook will be feeding in the area.  Most snook will be small but if you use an 8" or 10" live  mullet or pogie for bait, you have a better chance of attracting bigger fish. 

This angler hit an exceptional  monster snook on the fly.
 
During the summer months Snook of 30 pounds and over have been caught on that stretch of beach. The best chance is at first light and again at dusk until a couple of hours after dark preferrably during a high tide when there is more water over the reef.  The smnaller snook will be targeting greenies and pilchards so if you are happy with them, look for areas that harbor those baits.   

Tarpon are another inshore possibility if the coldwater upwellings dont appear during July.  The best areas for boaters and surf fishermen are along Canaveral Bight north of Port Canaveral, the surf along Patrick AFB, and the surf between Melbourne Beach to Vero Beach.  Most Tarpon will be under 100 pounds but they are great fun to catch.

July is when whiting start getting thick along the beaches in most areas of Central Florida.

River rods with small hooks on a sliding sinker rig with sand fleas or small peeled pieces of shrimp are all you need to load up a cooler.

Many surf fishermen using long surf rods and conventional two or three dropper hook rigs overcast the fish that are running the near troughs. 

Getting out early in the morning regardless of the tide is the secret to catching whiting but the best bite usually occurs from the middle to the end of an incoming tide.

Sharks or almost any species are also on the agenda for surf fishermen during July.  Bonnet heads, black tips and nurse shark are only a few of the species that may gobble up your bait. 

If you are specifically targeting shark in the surf, use wire leaders and fresh baits and try to stay away from beach goers if at all possible.  The shark follow the baitfish and occasionally hit swimmers in dirty water conditions close to shore.