Mahi Mayhem

Report Date: July 31, 2018

This summer has all been about mahi fishing. There has been a ton of Sargasso weed in the Gulfstream. Overall this is a great thing. The Sargasso weed provides a nursery area for all juvenile pelagic fish as well as a steady stream of bait for pelagic fish. For us fisherman it is also very good since mahis and other pelagics love to hang around the Sargasso. The only drawback has been that there is so many patches of weed out there that it is often difficult to find the one that is holding fish. For the most part we do have a few tricks up our sleeve and are usually able to score relatively easily on the schools of mahis. The mahi bite was red hot in early July and just slowed down about a week ago because of the full moon. It actually didn’t slow down but the feeding times shifted a bit more towards the afternoon. With the full moon the mahis were probably able to feed all night and were not very hungry in the mornings, as the typically are. But come afternoon time it was like a different ocean out there and the mahis were ravenous. Now that the full moon has passed, the feeding cycle should revert back to normal.

Fishing on the edge has been so-so. The water temp is pretty hot and it pays to troll planers to get your bait down lower into the cooler water. With the planers we have been able to catch a few kingfish and a few bonitos. We have also live baited on the edge and caught mostly kingfish, bonitos and a sailfish. Soon enough the water will start to cool down and the sailfish will become more abundant.

We have had a lack of swordfish trips this summer. Typically we do a couple a week but this has not been the case this summer. We do have our first night time swordfish trip this weekend so hopefully we will have a very good report.

I will be here for the first part of August and then will be heading up to Cape Cod to work on a 66 Viking doing some canyon trips and hopefully some bluefin tuna trips. That still leaves the first part of August open to target mahis in the Gulfstream or swordfish either day or night. Another great option for early August, especially before the kids get back to school, is a quick trip to Bimini for some great yellowtail snapper fishing as well as great deep dropping. What a perfect way to end the summer than a fun family trip to the Bahamas. So whatever your preference, give us a call and let’s set up that trip.

Tight Lines,
Capt. Dean Panos

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