NEAR SHORE
The near shore fishery has been hot with plenty of variety and solid catches across the board. Hogfish are becoming more and more active. The best depths have been in the 40–70 ft range on hard bottom and smaller ledges. Live shrimp on a 1–2 oz knocker rig with a 3-4/0 hook, 20–30 lb braid, and 10–15 ft fluorocarbon leader is the go-to setup. Patience is key—porgies and grunts will peck first before the hogfish move in. We also see the hogfish jigs tipped with shrimp as a great other set up for the hogfish. Also, a lot of folks will add some beads between the hook and the sinker on their knocker rigs to add some visual and sound to their hogfish set up.
Lane snapper fishing has been great in 60–100 ft of water. They’ll bite on cut squid, shrimp, or threadfin. Mangrove snapper are mixed in and will eat small chunks of threadfin or live shrimp. The bite improves dramatically for mangroves as you move deeper. We see the same with the lane snapper lately too.
Red grouper are scattered near shore but there are still keepers to be found when working the deeper near shore. Use larger baits like cut mackerel, bonito strips, or live pinfish to draw out the bigger fish. The bite around 80ft or more seems to be getting better and better for the red grouper lately, however, we aren’t seeing much bycatch in that depth range with them.
OFFSHORE
Offshore fishing is in full swing with great opportunities for a mixed bag of bottom and pelagic species. Red grouper are feeding well between 120–180 ft of water over hard bottom and ledges. Big dead baits like whole squid, bonito strips, and boston mackerel work great, and live pinfish are always a safe bet for larger fish. Scamp grouper are also showing up in the same areas, particularly on the deeper ledges.
Mangrove snapper action remains consistent with good size fish coming on double-snell rigs baited with cut threadfin. Triggerfish are still chewing well, and a small strip of squid or fish on a smaller hook does the trick.
The mutton and yellowtail snapper bite continues to impress offshore. Muttons are hitting live pinfish and cut baits fished on longer leaders, while yellowtails respond well to lighter tackle and small baits presented naturally. Vermillion snapper and porgies have been plentiful as well, filling coolers with solid bycatch for those dropping in deeper water.
Pelagic action remains strong—blackfin tuna, kingfish, and even the occasional wahoo have been active on temperature breaks and color changes. Running a flat line or trolling plugs between spots can pay off big time right now.
Don’t forget, that we have some great videos on our fishing tips and tricks page here to show you how to target and rig for almost any species-> https://www.hubbardsmarina.com/fishing-tips/
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