Fishing Report & Forecast North Florida

By Richard Bloom

West side of the Stream:

It’s the middle of April as I write this and the Mahi run has still not started in the gulf stream. This makes the annual spring mahi run promising for the month of May. Start about 135 to 150 ft death. Look for fully formed weed lines and current edges. As water warms the chance of seeing a Blue Marlin grows. Early mornings and later in the evening Blackfin tuna will be feeding on the ledge so be sure to be there during low light conditions if targeting blackfin tuna.

East Side of the Gulf Stream:

The birds are starting to show up and Yellowfin tuna have been plentiful. Target the cooler pockets of water and large temperature breaks. If you see birds there are sure to be fish below. Most Yellowfin tuna are in the 20-50lbs range but some larger 70lb to 100lbs. Mahi, Blackfins, and Marlin are prevalent as well in May on the east side as well.

Offshore Inside the Stream:

As water temperatures heat up, expect to see an abundance of life on the nearshore reefs. May is a great month on the feeds. King Mackerel will be abundant 10-15 miles from the inlet on any spots that hold bait fish such as cigar minnows, sardines, and threadfins. Keep a close eye on the bait that comes to the surface. When kingfish are around they will make their presence known by jumping when feeding and by making the school of bait all startle at one time.

Further out around Elton Bottom, the mangrove snapper bite will be heating up. All summer long, Mangrove Snapper responds well to chum; May is typically the first effective month mangroves can be chummed to the boat. Be prepared with various sizes of fluorocarbon leaders as they can be very leader shy at times. Once the sharks show up it’s going to be the end of the party and time to search elsewhere. General tip with offshore fishing; If sharks are eating your fish there is no point in fishing that spot any longer as they will win the battle every time.

Inshore.

With May’s warmer water, we start to see an abundance of life around the jetties. Larger mixed bags become more common with more species showing up around the inlet. Pompano, black drum, mangrove snapper, sheepshead, redfish, black margates, Spanish mackerel, speckled trout, flounder, and so much more will be around the jetties. Some larger flounder should be around rocks and docks. If you plan on catching a nice mixed bag, be prepared to have a lot of live shrimp. Pinfish and blennies will wreak havoc on live shrimp from May through August inshore. Mud minnows are a great alternative to shrimp if your livewell has a hard time keeping massive amounts of shrimp alive and you do not want to deal with all of the bycatch.