September Spearfishing Report….The Transition month

The right tail..er um yellowtail can make your day!

September marks the end of summer and the beginning of what too many is the spearfishing season.  Spearfishing from Miami, Florida Keys, Hollywood Beach, Dania Beach, West Palm Beach, Sebastian Inlet all the way to Jupiter, as well as the Treasure coast on North spearfishing  really starts to get awesome as the water starts to cool up and fish start to come into shallower waters. Although September is a fairly slow month for tourism and spearfishing charters, heck even fishing charters in general…it’s a blessing in disguise as our Miami Florida spear fishing waters free up of boat traffic, allowing for 100% spearfishing charter success.  September is a kinda, what I call- a transition month- that is lots of what

A Sept. Line-up

went on in August carries over into September, and what’s to come in October starts to happen towards the end of September as well.  And that includes the “famous” mullet run, in fact as of this writing  there should be schools of mullet making their way from Daytona, Melbourne and Sebastion….some pretty awesome spearfishing grounds in their own right!  Of course this is no secret to the best, top notch spearfishing captains who know, following these mullet are predatory fish- the likes of Cobia, Jacks, Pelagics and the usual reef predators. One spearfishing  secret in Miami, Elliot Keys, Key Largo and continuing to Marathon Key is yellowtail snappers these guys are tops on the list for this September  month of spearfishing!!!  For some reason September always delivers big on Flags (BIG YELLOWTAIL) and you’ll find them from Miami to Key Largo and  forward south to Key West.. Waters are teaming with yellowtail waiting to be shot and the spearfishing trick is lots of chum and shoot them from the bottom up.  Also big muttons are readily available, and as the water starts to cool off, some nice, very coy blacks and gags will be showing up too. Let’s hope this North current continues to

A Flag!

cooperate as this is optimal for good reef hunting.  Offshore and into the blue it’s a whole other “can of sardines” bluewater spearfishing starts to idle a bit as the October spearfishing bonanza approaches!!! For those of you in search of Mahi don't despair as the fall patterns begin to settle in towards the end of September we should start seeing the bigger size Dorado gaffers  and slammers as they start their journey North- if you find flotsam or birds you’ll more than likely find some mahi worth jumping into the water to spear!!!.  Chances on blackfin are also high.  The offshore wrecks as well as the Marathon Key  humps are teaming with them from footballs  to  big 20-25 pounders lots of chum and chunking brings them right up fast…but following right behind them are the taxmen so buddying up makes a lot of sense.   With this cooler water we should be seeing more kingfish and their smaller cousins Spanish and Cero mackerels as they start invading our waters= look for them  along the reef edges where the drops are as well

Nice Florida Hamachi

as wrecks.  Speaking of wrecks, keep an eye out, they are now also loaded with big amberjack. and Almaco Jack (much better eating than AJ's) if you're up for some gear wrecking fish, this is the fish for you…tasty either smoked or as escabeche  this fish provide a cheap bluewater spearfishing thrill and some great training for whats to come in the months ahead with the best spearfishing bluewater in Miami as well as the Florida Keys!!!!  Finally our September spearfishing report wouldn’t be complete without a heads up…. Keep an eye out for those big fat pink moon plates otherwise known as  These big pink jellyfish always invade our Florida waters around September so for you guys out there spearfishing be very careful.  Although their sting is’nt to bad they really can do a number on any divers especially on your ascent running into on head first…our waters are presently  bombarded with these big pink plates so keep an eye out for them
jellyfish.

FISH OF THE MONTH.  Amberjack

If it’s a fight you’re looking for, then you need to shoot yourself an Amberjack-I’m referring to the Greater Amberjack, not  the Lesser amberjack which look very similar, but do not reach the same size.  Also known as a Reef Donkey (or just Donkey) or just simply as A.J’s, Amberjacks are one of the hardest fighting fish out there pound for pound,  and will surely put your spearfishing gear to the test, if not out of the test all together.  Never underestimate the brute power of an AJ, and make sure you have the appropriate spearfishing gear to handle these brutes!  My preferred set up is either a break away with a floatline (about 25-30 feet shorter than the bottom, attached to a Heavy Riffe 2 atm float, or 30L

Tough gear for tough fish

Hippo  attached to a 10’ bungie with a 15 L float(best) or the same set up attached to your gun (much more precarious).  In my opinion a reel for this type spearing is a little riskier as an AJ can tangle up on the bottom on that first strong run and you can lose a lot of reel line.  It’s important to put some muscle on him on the first run as they will be headed to the bottom like a freight train from hell.  AJ’s like structure that’s holding bait so wrecks is always tops here in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and the Keys, Oil rigs are also tops for Donkeys…but we still don’t have those here, yet.  You find AJ’s on your sonar usually mid depth and as a general rule the deeper the water the bigger the donkey. Once you find them do some burley and chunking this will bring them up a little more off the wreck…wait as the smaller 10-20 will come up first, usually the 50-100’ers are hanging solo and take their time climbing the water column. So wait to take your shot…then be prepared to enter the house of KICK ASS!!  Really any month is ok for amberjacks, except of course the closed dates which can very in state waters and federal waters so make sure you’re on the target with that, most spearfishing charters

Nelson Kwok with a huge AJ

will be informed and up to date.  Usually April and May you will find the big’ems, but we have seen a steady amount of Big AJ’s around the end of September going into October. The current IUSA record for spearfishing using a speargun is 166 pounds from Portugal (H/L its 157#'s from Japan) and the world record Greater Amberjack for polespear/ Hawaiin sling is 50.5 pounds.  Some peeps shy away from a AJ’s as far as table fare, I for one won’t target them specifically for eating as there are fish I prefer more than an AJ, but don’t think for a moment these fish aren’t tasty they make great grilling or smoking meat when prepared fresh. or as a dip.  Sometimes AJs will have worms. Most of the worms appear in the meat toward the tail area of a filet as opposed to the shoulder meat which tends to not have worms.   Up to now we have never found any with them but have heard of some spearos finding them. The worms themselves don’t present any health issues  even if you ate them, but it is a turn-off, so if an AJ has worms just cut off that piece  and pop him on the grill

Well that does it for September, thanks for dropping in…DIVE SAFE

Till next spearfishing report, tight bands, straight shafts, and smooooooooth triggers!

Tone

http://www.settingsteelspeargear.com/

AUGUST Spearfishing Report-SHORT & SWEET

Dog Snapper...August Dog Days

Well the dog days of August are here.....and I don't mean dog as in spear fishing dog snapper...I mean really slow, hot,humid days! For some spearo's/speara's August is the time of year to to tend your boat, and for

others it’s time to hit the sandbar for some braggin' why cause generally speaking the water warms up to the point that it’s virtually impossible to find fish in depths less than 100' and that limits about 50% of most folk spearfishing our Miami, Haulover, Hollywood, Key Biscayne and Florida Keys water. But don't despair my breath holding, band stretching, trigger pulling, fish slinging compadre….spearfishing in Florida in August is still awesome if you have the best spearfishing crew to put you on the fish….so if you want to

A typical August Charter

score some spearfishing bonuses (and some sandbar bragging rights) read these spearfishing tips and tricks for the dog days of August!!!

Water temperature is key when spearing in Miami, Florida Keys, and Miami Beach in the hot month of August….so keep an eye on your temperature gauge any significant change in temperature is worth checking out. Most temperature changes occur either on an abrupt change in depth, as in a drop off or large plate for example, or in a trough that runs parallel to a flat, these are fish routes often used be predator fish such as Coronados (otherwise known as BIG MUTTONS) or Mules (BIG

keep an eye on your sonar.Tept and Depth changes

YELLOW JACK or Florida Hamachi), and yes some mighty big’ass bull sharks too. Temperature is also a few degrees less in the shade so when spearfishing in August look under ledges and especially in holes, I can’t say how many times we have dropped on to a boulder with a crack on it to find a mammoth Black chilling inside. The spearfishing month of August is known for some flash showers, and some long all day showers as well…many spearfishing clients shy away from spearing after these days because visibility is impacted negatively (more on this in a minute) and many spearfishing charters just close all together when these showers roll in as well. But here’s a spearfishing

Black Grouper  in the hole

August secret tip that not everyone knows….although visibility is decreased, due to run-off water dumping into Biscayne Bay and surrounding waters, as well as algae blooms (caused by the change a in salinity and sun) which begins as white particulated water then changing to a more mature green particle (algea)…this
decrease in viz also causes the water to cool off at depth! So water that was say 85 degrees at 30’ can after a long shower, hit say 80 degrees the day after, and that 5 degree change can mean 5 more fish in the cooler!

Another August spearfishing report trick of the month is current- a north current is key when fish are to be speared and the best spearfishing captains will keep an eye out for that as well-especially around that August full moon which brings the big cubera in for some romancing and also increases your chances to score spearfishing some wahoo…and of course some kingfish too. Many of our spearfishing expeditions revolve around bluewater;

Nice Florida Hamachi

we do have success, but truth be said you gotta do some serious running and gunning to find fish. Mahi are out and about but mostly small schoolies, weedlines are not as pronounced, so look for pods….also birds which will usually be under schools of Bonita…which may have a few wahoo under them as well, or as in our last spearfishing guided trip a 300+ Marlin….which we shot, with our GoPro lol. Kingfish can also be had during any of our spearfishing mixed bag of August, these guys are usually along our second reef line where the color change occurs and the depth jumps from 70-80’ to 120-130’ kingfish patrol these waters hungry for food, and a slow deliberate drift with our drift anchors, some chum and flashers usually brings one or 2 in for a closer look . Speaking of chum if yellowtailing is the spearfishing plan…take plenty of chum and find a nice drop of…fix yourself up with the current and let that chum work its magic, and don’t forget to sweeten it up with some chunk to (bonita is golden) keep an eye out for the willy mutton or cubera which might be drawn into your chum slick(especially if your chunking) as well.

Cubera on the prowl

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Here’s a spearfishing trick for yellowtail snapper…which by the way are one of the hardest snapper species to shoot. Once the big tails are in swim away from the pack drop and approach from below shooting upwards …we’ve taught clients this spearfishing trick, and they have been able to shoot some big flags this way. No spearfishing report is complete without a wreck forecast right? Wrecks are fish magnets fa’su and now’s a good time to hit a wreck with a cooler full of chunked bait fish and bring up the gear wreckers-Amberjack! This guys will put your gear to the test, and will provide you with an adrenaline rush not soon forgotten…plus a

months’ worth of smoked fish, also within the wreck bunch keep a look out for Florida Hamachi, Kingfish and Wahoo.





BEST BET Spearfishing for the month of August...Well not really spearfishing ....LOBSTA

Florida Spiny Lobster that’s the “fish” of the month for our August spearfishing report! I think we had a great write up on last month best spearfishing blog in the world…lol. So if your up for a review check it out….here is a quick summary for regs . And here is a short version of a few lobster tips and tricks when in Miami, or Florida Keys…also keep in mind when in the Keys many regulations for harvesting lobsters are different than the rest of Florida, so either read them

carefully or make sure your spearfishing charter captain is up to date on them. Another important factor when snatching Florida spiny lobsters is to carry a lobster gauge with you at ALL times.

Here are a few more lobster harvesting techniques when chasing these tasty critters and the best thing is they will work in Miami Beach, Dania Beach, West Palm Beach, Sebastian Inlet and onward throughout all of Florida! I first should mention, when chasing lobsters think like a roach…yes a roach, as that’s a lot like lobstas are. Once you got that lobster tip down …the rest is not to difficult to grasp. In my last blog I mention some broad lobster hunting methods that are 100% full proof and should boat you quite a few bugs as well as the best type of equipment and gear you should use to maximize both your time and cooler with lobsters. Here are a few more methods and techniques to get more Florida Spiny Lobsters. When you approach any reef, plate, hump always look for a lobsters antennae, it’s a very distinguishable telltale sign, that just sticks out . Another tip for

Snare...gotcha!

lobster harvesting is to look for them on what I call the “out rock” that is those rocks that are a few feet away from the main reef or rock pile. Another place to look for bugs is in coral heads but not just inside the head, but on the inside top part same holds for the inside top part of ledges and piles. A tickle stick is the best tool for effortlessly getting lobsters to move out of their hole sneak it behind them and tap their tale this will get them to move out and face the tickle stick, the rest is simple.  Another great part about lobstering is that we can combine it into any part of your spearfishing guided trip, often times we will do a half day of bluewater spearfishing and end with a few hours of bugging.
  Overall although August can be a tough month to spearfish, but it still can

be productive.  All they species are here and as any good spearfishing captain and crew will tell you its just a matter of planning your charter to attack from different angles as the weather and day adjusts.  Run and gunning will work well, but so will the other methods fpr spearfishing described above....be versatile and the cooler will slowly fill up.  And if all else fails well you can always hit the sandbar and have yourself a merry time enjoying Florida's awesome weather and its assortment of fun thanks for dropping in!

Till next spearfishing report, tight bands, straight shafts, and smooooooooth triggers!

Tone

http://www.settingsteelspeargear.com/