KAYAK Fishing Forecast

With

Cap T. B ria N N elli

772-201-5899 • Brian@tckayakfishing.com

• tckayakfishing.com

Inshore

Snook fishing should be your target this month. Fishing dock lights and bridge shadow lines at night are a great way to catch one and avoid the heat of the day. If daylight is more your thing try fishing seawalls and docks with good water currents. Launching at Sawfish Park in Jupiter will allow you to access some good areas. Don’t overlook fishing the beach for snook as well as tarpon. Get out early and launch at places like the south side of Jupiter Inlet. Fish the beach south and look for rolling fish and snook in the surf.

Offshore

Fishing offshore should produce plenty of bonita, kingfish, tuna, sailfish, and some wahoo in the mix. Slow trolling a live bait like a goggle eye or pilchard will be your best bet. Try trolling 80-250 feet of water looking for weed lines or current breaks along reefs and ledges. Check out Pushin’ Water Kayak Charters on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for all the latest adventures my clients and I get into.

CONTi N ued F r O m page 1 Ma HI D e CLIN

Reynolds, who also heads a conservation group called South Atlantic Fishing Environmentalists, or SAFE, said an 11-mile-long pelagic longline can have as many as 1,100 large J hooks that snare the bright blue and yellow migratory fish, which are increasingly popular at restaurants, fish markets and grocery stores across the country. And, it’s because of this practice that Reynolds and other charter captains, as well as recreational anglers, say they are seeing fewer mahi out in the ocean, and the ones they are catching are much smaller than these multi-generational fishermen have been used to catching throughout their lives. “We’re acting like this is ‘Unsolved Mysteries.’ We all know this,” Reynolds said. “You can’t go hunting deer with machine guns.” The federal government allows commercial anglers to lay 32 nautical miles of line at a time. Reynolds said there are 70 longline vessels currently targeting mahi, most based in northern Florida and North Carolina. He said longliners have recently begun targeting mahi in Puerto Rico. Representatives from the Bluewater Fishermen’s Association, the trade group representing longliners, could not be reached for comment. The purpose of the meeting, hosted by NOAA and the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council at the Florida Keys History & Discovery Center at the Islander Resort, was so federal regulators could receive input from the charter sector on future rules to maintain a healthy fishery.

The roughly 30 captains and mates in attendance were in agreement on two things: Their catch is way down and long-lining is to blame. “This fishery has gone from healthy to almost nonexistent in 36 months; that’s the life span of a fish,” said Larry Wren, owner of First Choice Charters in Islamorada. This is bad for business, and for the environment, they say. Keys anglers are still catching plenty of smaller dolphin. But missing from the fishery, they say, are sustainable numbers of larger “gaffer” dolphin that start around 20 pounds and grow up to seven feet and 88 pounds. Mahi live up to five years and can start reproducing at four to five months old, according to NOAA.

No fishery can withstand this kind of pressure. And the use of J-hooks and these longlines in state waters is a recipe for disaster. I think it’s time recreational anglers and charter captains to make our collective voices heard. We need to let our state and local officials know the devastating impact this is having on our local marine environment and economy with regards to the mahi fishery. Please show up to every local fisheries management meeting and voice your concerns. We are already doing our “fair share” with enforced recreational bag limits and general good conservation. This style of fishing needs to stop, and it needs to stop now. And public awareness of the issues is key. Mahi are a highly migratory species in need of sound federal oversight. The federal government should also be mandating that all recreational limits be the same for the entire eastern seaboard based on sound policy decisions similar to Florida’s state regulations.

Not everything can be good news. But if we come together as a fishery we can and will make a positive difference. Do this and we can protect the future of this amazing fishery for generations to come.

Dolphin • Snapper (all kinds)

Sailfish • Grouper

Bonito • Cobia

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$45 - Children 12 & under

$50

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