Offshore Fishing Report: The Dolphin bite off of Palm Beach has picked up quite a bit this week and should continue into the weekend. If you can take off of work, do so because another cold front is predicted to move through the area on Sunday. Fish up to 30 lbs have been reported with many fish being caught in the 8-15 lb. range. The best bite has been from the Dodge Wall to Lost Tree from 150-400ft. Troll skirted ballyhoo or squid for best results.
Along the edge in 80-110ft. from Palm Beach to Jupiter has been productive as well. We’ve had reports of Mutton Snapper, Kingfish, and Cobia. The kingfish have been caught a number of different ways, but live baiting has been the most productive. Most of the cobia have been caught on the bottom while people have been Snapper fishing, but they can also be sight fished as they’re usually following the sharks in the area. Best bet for snapper is a whole dead sardine fished on the bottom with a double or triple hook rig. Try sizing down your leader and also using fluorocarbon for a better bite ratio.
Pictured: Eric Rietwyk with a nice sized Bull Dolphin!
Inshore/Beach Report: Snook fishing has been good for those putting in the work this past week. Since the season started last week, we’ve had a bunch of reports of fish caught in the Jupiter area. Most fish have been over the slot of 28″-32″, but there have been legal fish around. Most fish we’ve heard of have been caught around the Jupiter bridges (Catos, A1A, and Indiantown). Larger swim baits (Gambler Big EZ, Hogy Paddletail, or Spooltek) or flair jigs (Gulfstream or First Light) have produced the best results.
We’ve had a number of reports of Blacktip sharks along the beach. Most fish have been from the old Juno Pier to the Pumphouse at the Palm Beach Inlet. Fish can be targeted on heavy spin tackle with large popping plugs. This is great if you want to see their ferocious topwater attacks. They can also be fished for with dead bait on the bottom. Chunks of bonito or barracuda will work the best.