Early Spring South Florida Fishing Outlook
Calmer days in the spring are ideal for targeting tilefish on mud bottoms using fresh cut bait.
With spring fishing around the corner, many species are available for South Florida anglers to target. The shallow wrecks and reefs are excellent places to start, where you’ll find Spanish and cero mackerel, kingfish, bonita, yellowtail snapper, mutton snapper, mangrove snapper, and black, gag and red groupers. Although groupers will be closed to harvest, they’re still fun to catch. By anchoring and using chum and fresh bait, you’ll have the opportunity to catch all the species mentioned.
As you move into deeper waters off the reef’s edge, you’ll find sailfish, wahoo, mahi mahi, blackfin tuna, and occasionally yellowfin tuna. Live bait under kites, flat lines and subsurface lines are your best bet for targeting these pelagic species. Some of my favorite baits are threadfin herring, goggle eyes and pilchards. Trolling also works but isn’t as effective as live baiting.
Moving farther offshore presents opportunities to find vermillion snapper, yelloweye snapper, gray tilefish and golden tilefish. My favorite way to target these species is on rock piles and mud bottoms using chicken rigs and fresh cut bait such as squid and bonita.
Last, but certainly not least, is the broadbill swordfish, which can be found near the bottom in 1,400 to 2,000 feet of water.
This article was originally published in the February issue of the Palm Beach & Fort Lauderdale edition of Coastal Angler magazine.