FWC Approves Rule Changes to Atlantic Greater Amberjack

At its May meeting, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved a rule to modify recreational and commercial regulations for greater amberjack in Atlantic state waters. To provide additional conservation benefits and harvest opportunities to Florida’s anglers in Atlantic state waters, these modifications will:

•Reduce the commercial size limit from 36 to 34 inches fork length,

•Reduce the import size limit statewide from 36 inches to 34 inches fork length,

•Establish a recreational spawning season closure in April (consistent with the current federal commercial closure), and

•Remove outdated commercial language.

A recent stock assessment found the South Atlantic greater amberjack stock is not overfished or undergoing overfishing. Last year, the South

Atlantic Council approved changes for greater amberjack, including increasing quotas and modifying commercial and recreational management changes. Cooperative greater amberjack management between Atlantic state and federal waters is necessary to provide additional harvest opportunities, conservation benefits, and help ensure the stock remains sustainable for the future.

The greater amberjack regulations in Atlantic state waters will go into effect at a later date once pending federal regulations have been implemented by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

For current recreational amberjack regulations, visit MyFWC.com/Marine and click on “Recreational Regulations”, then select “Reef Fish” and “Amberjack”. For current commercial amberjack regulations, visit MyFWC.com/ Marine and click on “Commercial Regulations”, then select “Jacks (Amberjacks)”.

Closures

• SNOOK: June 1 – Aug. 31

Your

Martin County Offshore

Capt. Scott Fawcett

Off the Chain Fishing Charters (772) 285-1055 offthechainfishing.com fishscottyf@bellsouth.net

Early summer might be the best time of year to fish Stuart. Over the last few years, June has been a very productive month for many different species along Florida’s Treasure Coast. From inshore to offshore, swords, tuna, Bahamas, it’s all good in June.

Start by looking for snook, tarpon and jacks along the beach. Try a Blackfin Carbon E spinning rod with a good reel spooled with 20-pound braid and leader from 30-to-80 pounds depending on what you’re targeting and whether you’re using live bait with a circle hook, a lure or even a fly. Threadfin herring should be located right outside the inlet, along tide lines and small pieces of bottom rubble. Use them along the beach, in the inlet or offshore. This time of year, bump trolling and kite fishing are very productive with them especially along weed lines, current edges and over reefs.

I strongly recommend a Fish Razr strip teaser while doing this.

Sails, dolphin, kings, blackfin, and even wahoo are all very possible catches this month while fishing right out front just a few miles out. With a little extra fuel burn, swords, yellowfin and blue marlin can be targeted this month and the next few.

We just had a new set of rods made by Blackfin. The Off The Chain sailfish circle hook rod is the perfect match for our local species and have a soft enough tip where it doesn’t encourage pulled hooks on sails or other fish that jump and shake, but strong enough backbone to lift a stubborn tuna. Ours are spooled with 15-pound line and we normally use a 40-to-50-pound leader with a 6/0 or 7/0 circle hook.

This June I’m expecting a pretty decent run of mahi to arrive on the front side of this sargassum island headed our way. After doing more research on it, I am a little concerned on what it could potentially do. Let’s cross our fingers that it is somewhat organized and moves up the coast quickly bringing bait and mahi with it without causing too much damage over the reefs or along the coastline.

With June offing so many different varieties of species to catch and how you can target them, it’s no doubt that there will be some great catches this month. Whichever species you choose to target, I hope your next trip is Off The Chain! Please give me a call at (772) 2851055 to book your next fishing adventure.

Capt. Jonathan Earhart

Chaos Fishing Charters

(772) 341 – 2274 www.chaosfishigcharters.com jon@chaosfishigncharters.com

June is a great month for inshore and nearshore fishing on the Treasure Coast. Inshore snook fishing can be stellar around local inlets and passes. Fishing docks, seawalls, and deep-water mangrove shorelines will also yield plenty of bigger snook, jacks, trout, redfish, and flounder this month. Early morning and late evening fishing with artificial and or live baits will produce the best bites for inshore game fish.

Snook fishing around the St. Lucie inlet is always a great option this month as the snook start to gather

Martin County Deep Sea

Capt. Rocky Carbia

Safari I Deep Sea Fishing

Pirates Cove Resort and Marina

4307 SE Bayview St. Port Salerno

Reservations: (772) 334-4411

Safari-1.com

The offshore interactive fish film festival will be cinematic poetry for the anglers of June. Salty script writers of fishing strategies will be inclined to angle towards the naturally occurring, coral reef line south of the St. Lucie Inlet in depth of 65 to 85 feet of water. This “Southern Reef Line” and “Loran Tower Ledge”, east of Hobe Sound and Tequesta, are home to a rich and diverse population of saltwater fish that inhabit all depths of the water column, over top and around these reefs. These structures are fish magnets that will attract many pelagics like cobia, king mackerel and mahi, just to name a few. Several species of grouper and snapper will reside among these coral ledges. Trophy mutton snapper (of 20-pounds or better) will patrol this southern reef line like saltwater bosses and fade off the main rises of the reef structure into a thin veil of visibility along the outer edges of the reef’s footprint. Jumbo cubera snapper (that can achieve weights over 100 pounds) will cruise the same reef contours, like toothy snapper assassins, capable of devouring large around large deep water rock piles to spawn. Fishing larger baits closer to the bottom will get the bites from these larger breeding snook. Quick catch followed by a quick release is essential to ensuring good survival rates on breeding snook populations.

Tarpon fishing around deep water channels and near local inlets with mullet and or crabs will be your best bet early morning or late evening. Mid-day fishing can produce bites, but be prepared to soak a bait a few hours to get the bites.

Nearshore fishing along the beach is a great idea during the month of June. Flat calm seas and clear water make it ideal to run close to the beach looking for schools of jacks, tarpon, snook, and permit. Live crabs, pilchards, and or mullet will work best. Topwater plugs, Hogy lures, Tsunami swimbaits, and Flair Hawks are all great artificial lures to have tied on and ready for a quick opportunity when sight fishing along the beach.

Nearshore wrecks and reefs are holding snapper, cobia, kingfish, goliath grouper, sharks, and the occasional sailfish. Drifting live baits along the surface and along the bottom can yield a variety of species. Bottom fishing with chicken rigs on cut bait will produce snapper limits with lots of grunts mixed in. Triple hook rigs with a live sardine throat hooked is also a great way to catch a few large kingfish for the smoker when fishing nearshore reefs and or wrecks. Tight lines! live and dead bait offerings. Catch and release of Jurassic sized goliath grouper (between 200 and 400 pounds) occur frequently during any bottom fishing excursion in this reef area. Consequently, heavy tackle and sports-minded, fit anglers will be necessary to wrangle these salty beasts to the surface.

Fishing around the southern reef line offers many fishing opportunities and strategy options for local fishing crews. Along with the potential to tie into large representatives of many bottom dwelling fish in this zone, captains and crews will be able to target keeper and medium sized bottom fish using lighter tackle and chicken rigs. Mangrove, lane, and vermilion snapper, trigger fish, porgies, and toro fish (aka glass eyed snapper), are all found in large numbers here and can be caught using this technique. They will satisfy the fishing appetites of a wide range of anglers, young and old alike.

The fishing theater of June will be filled with a diverse cast of fish actors, that will await the applause of their audience as they hit fish box ice, along the naturally occurring contour of the southern reef line, east of Martin County.

For Reservations Call (772) 334-4411

Located at Pirates Cove Resort and Marina 4307 SE Bayview St. Port Salerno/Stuart, FL www.Safari-1.com

Trip Times

Monday-Saturday 8:30AM-1:30PM

Adults $70; Children $60

Sunday 8:30AM-3:00PM

Adults $80; Children $70