Offshore Report: The dolphin bite has been great this past week off of Palm Beach and Jupiter. We’ve had tons of reports of fish being caught trolling and live baiting. Most of the fish caught trolling, have been found further offshore by people running and looking for larger weed patches. The reports have been from 400-900ft. Try trolling mono-rigged ballyhoo or squid. It’s always good to have a spinning rod rigged with a jig on it in case you get multiple dolphin that follow a hooked fish to the boat. Those catching them live baiting have been along the ledge in Juno/Jupiter in 80-120ft. Plenty of kingfish have been in this area as well as a few summertime sailfish still lingering around. The kingfish bite has also been good off of the Breakers in 70-100ft. Using live bait or dead sardines will both work.
There have still been plenty of Blackfin Tuna around from the Breakers to Palm Beach Inlet. Most fish have been between 150-350ft. You can troll or live chum for the Blackfins. If trolling, use small feathers like a Dolphin Delight or a daisy chain with squid skirts. The evening bite seems to have been better for the Blackfins recently.
Inshore Report: There are now plenty of snook that have moved to both Jupiter and Palm Beach inlets. Most of the fish you’ll get here will be “slot” size or larger. Mullet have been the go-to bait in the Palm Beach Inlet, with outgoing tide being the most productive. There has been more live bait that has started to show up in the Jupiter area. If you can find Pilchards or Greenies, they’ll be the best bait for Jupiter Inlet. Mullet will work as well.
Bahamas: If you’re heading over to the Bahamas for the holiday weekend, the Yellowfin tuna fishing has been exceptional. Using and radar, running, and looking for flocks of birds has been the most productive method of finding the fish. Once the fish have been located, chum with chunks of sardines or live bait to keep the fish around. Trolling rigged ballyhoo or larger lipped plugs is another solid method for finding the fish when the birds aren’t around or the fish aren’t on the surface. There have been plenty of large Blackfin Tuna mixed in with the Yellowfins as well.