Summer Is Here

Report Date: July 2, 2025

Summer in South Florida can be hot, but being offshore is a lot cooler than being on land. In the ocean you get some breeze and are not locked into the humidity that is being felt inland. Mahi fishing goes hand in hand with summer in Florida. This is the time of year we hed offshore in hunt of big schools of mahis. This spring we saw a surprising amount of 20 50 pound mahis in Miami, but typically in the summer we see big schools of schoolie mahi. Last year there were a ton of small fish (under 20 inches which is legal size), but thankfully this year we have been seeing mostly legal size mahis. Now that can change with every school you run into but for the most part the fish have been keepers. My advice is that if you run into a school of mostly undersized fish, leave them alone and go search for the next school. Mahi are ravenous and they inhale any bait thrown at them and the majority get gut hooked. It may be your best intention to release the smaller fish, but I can guarantee that a lot of the smaller fish that get released end up dying.
The tactic we use for mahi fishing is we run out to an area that has the right signs which are either birds or debris. Then we beginning trolling 2 4 small lures or ballyhoo until we find a school of fish or get a strike on the lures. At that point from the tower, I can find the school and pitch small live bait or chunk bait at the fish in the school. Once you hook a couple of fish, leave them hooked up in the water and near the boat as this tends to keep the school around the boat. The legal size is 20 inches from the fork of tail to the head and the limit if fishing in state waters (within 3 miles from shore) is 5 fish per person and 30 fish max per boat (if there are 6 people on board). In federal water which is where most of the mahis this time of year are caught the limit is 10 fish per person and a max of 54 per vessel. To me 10 fish per person is a lot so catch what you can eat and perhaps a few more for friends. Mahi fishing is a great family trip where even the real young anglers can get in on the action.

Besides mahis in the summer, there has been quite a few sailfish around while fishing live baits on the edge. Besides the sailfish, there have also been quite a few kingfish, a few blackfin tunas and in the last week a ton of bonitos. Bonitos might not be good table fare, but they are hard fighting fish and beginning anglers and experienced ones can hone their angling skills fighting bonitos on light tackle.

The next fish on the list is going to be swordfish. Flat calm weather usually prevails in the summer and daytime swordfishing in calm weather is always a plus. There have been some decent swordfish caught this year, and the catches keep coming in.

So, if you want to escape the heat, set up your day of fishing offshore. Besides staying cooler, it is highly likely you will come back with some good fillets for dinner.

Tight Lines,
Capt. Dean Panos

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