Here is information and links to a variety of saltwater species that we commonly catch.
Every spring – actually late winter and early spring, the black drum make their way into the inlets up and down the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. This is the time of year that the big breeder fish come in to spawn.
Black drum fishing enthusiasts make plans months ahead of time, tuning up their tackle, and their boats. Although the average “big” drum catch is around 40 pounds, these fish can reach weights over 100 pounds, and annually many fish that size are caught.
Similar to hunting for game, fishing for tripletail in the late summer is a matter of getting to where they live. If you can get to the places they frequent, you are likely to find one or more, and late summer is the time for some big ones along the southeast US coast.
Some people fish a lot of areas and are mildly successful. Some people few only one or two areas and have become extremely successful. I was witness to one of the latter this past week, and while it was not in saltwater, it does point out some tactics that any of us can take advantage of.
Whiting, Southern Kingfish, menticirrhus americanus; whatever the name, some would argue that the common whiting found along Georgia’s coastal waters and beaches are not worth pursuing. Those anglers who would take that stance are missing not only some of the fastest fishing around when the bite is on, but also some fine eating fare.
From May to October, packs of wahoo congregate along the Great Astrolabe Barrier Reef. The average size of wahoo is about 50 pounds with a good fish weighing in at 75 pounds. Each wahoo pack usually has a fish of close to 100 pounds. We almost always use lures when targeting wahoo; however, we often get jumped by fish when bait and switch fishing for sailfish. If your teaser is rigged with monofilament, wave bye-bye to the end of your daisy chain
We are right in the middle of a really fun time of year as fishing goes. Spring brings on the mating call for all creatures, including fish. One of my favorite rituals is the annual Black Drum spring spawning run. The run happens all up and down the East Coast, beginning in Florida and moving north all the way to New England.
Sometimes a slow sheepshead bite means you need to move around to find isolated pockets of fish
Saltwater catfish are found from Texas to Virginia and even farther north on almost any kind of inland water, even in offshore water in depths up to about thirty feet. They are exactly like their freshwater cousins. In fact, if they are lying side by side, it is virtually impossible to distinguish one from the other.
Catch big black seabass in cold water when nothing else is biting
Got your bait? Got your tackle? Ready to go? Ok! Lets get crackin' on those sheepshead! One reader did ask last week whether these were Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus), or the California variety (Semicossyphus pulcher).
These that I am writing about are the former, the Atlantic variety.
Spring seabass fishing in the Atlantic and the Gulf is awesome
Sheepshead love any kind of structure with which they can identify and around which they can find food. Jetties, rocks, pilings, even channel markers will serve the purpose. I know of at least one boat that moves from marker to marker up or down the channel and drops a bait behind each one. The catch rate is probably around 50%!
On a day when other fishermen would stay home, I tend to venture out into the weather. Late fall, with temperatures dropping means sheepshead in my neck of the woods (or would it be my piece of the ocean?). Either way, fall and winter are sheepshead time, and the bite along the southern Atlantic coast has been hot recently.
Have you ever had someone try to teach you how to do something only to come to the realization that what he is teaching you is almost impossible? That's the way I felt many years ago when my father was trying to teach me how to set the hook on, and catch sheepshead. Known for their bait stealing prowess, these hard fighting fish have caused more grief to more fishermen than just about any other fish.
Anglers the world over have always struggled with that question. I know times when the fish were visible, lots of them, and they would not so much as nibble at even a live bait presented to them. What reason is there for a fish not to bite?
This past month was prime time for tripletail in a number of areas, in particular, Flamingo in the Everglades National Park. Those who fish this area regularly will attest to the numbers of fish available to those looking for a great fight. Late spring and early summer are prime times.
An angler catches a record fish and then begins cleaning it before having it weighed. It happened this past week on Florida's west coast.
The target was sheepshead; the bait was fiddler crabs. Catching these cousins to a porgy is at best difficult for most people. They can steal a bait without you feeling them, and if you do feel them, setting the hook in their bony, toothy mouth ads yet another degree of difficulty.
If you can get to the near shore reefs and wrecks, now is the time to look for big black seabass. This time of year seabass gather in huge spawning schools, and limits of these tasty bottom fish are common, even in relatively small boats.
Up and down the east coast of the United States, water temperatures are doing strange things. Perhaps it is a result of global warming; perhaps it is simply an anomaly that will change. Whatever the reason, barracudas are more plentiful and are being caught farther north than at any time in my recollection.
