FISHING FORECASTS
MARTIN COUNTY OFFSHORE
Capt. Scott Fawcett
Off the Chain Fishing Charters (772) 285-1055 fishscottyf@bellsouth.net offthechainfishing.com
M
arch? Usually, by now I can’t wait for spring to get here, but being we’ve had three cold days all winter…. For a brief time, I thought we were on track to what I would consider normal. The water temperature dipped into the high 60s and I knew that it was going to continue to chill and we were in for a banner year. A meteorologist, I’m not. The water is back to the mid70s already and although there were some excellent days in February, the season was hardly what we were hoping for. Fortunately for us, last year spring and summer both showcased exceptional sail, king and sword fishing. Decent mahi and tuna action and its normal, great bottom, reef and nearshore fishing.
ABOVE, LEFT: A nice swordfish for team Deep Clothing Apparel while Capt. Scott Fawcett was running their boat. A bite on every drop that day! ABOVE, RIGHT: Jimmy #2 with a nice cobia we caught aboard Off The Chain while fishing in memory of our great friend Jimmy Z. RIP. PHOTO CREDITS: Capt. Scott Fawcett.
This spring I’m so excited to utilize the new 87-inch Minn Kota aboard the Contender. With “spot lock”, “heading hold”, “auto pilot” and full integration with my HumminBird sonar, the opportunities are endless and the effort is minimal. Most of my fishing this month will either be along our two reefs (6 Mile in 65 feet, or 8 Mile in 135) or 20 miles out looking for weed lines, float and making drops for swordfish. The Loran Tower reef in 60 to 70 feet is a great place to troll or drift, live or dead baits for pelagics
and then drop small live baits, pieces of squid or cut bait on a two hook chicken rig when you mark stuff along the bottom. With the scarcity of mahi, a run and gun approach might pay off big compared to trolling around all day, but don’t be surprised if some of the things you find aren’t holding. For your best shot at action buy some bait from Capt Mike or Capt. Bryan at Stuart Live Bait in the mouth of Manatee Pocket, head out to 135-to-150 feet and set them out either from a kite or from
the outriggers and work your way north. If you see a weed line or an edge focus near that. On smaller baits, lighter leader and smaller hooks go a long way. Fishing a bait down works extremely effectively also. You can fish it on a lead, or I prefer using a Cannon downrigger so when a fish is on, there is no extra weight slinging around which often pulls hooks. Whatever it is you decide to do this March, I hope you enjoy your time on the water and I hope your next trip is Off The Chain!
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