Spearfishing REPORT: APRIL....a charter spearfishing trip in April can score big results!!!

Big Cobia is our BEST BET for April

Roberto Ruiz out Palm Beach and crew with cobia'galore

It isn’t a secret; April can be one of the best months to shoot or spear fish in Florida-period!  As the spring months roll in so do the fish in our Miami and Florida Keys water.   But it doesn’t stop there, all over, up and down both of our coasts-East and West- Cocoa Beach, Jupiter, Palm Beach, Sebastian, Venice Beach, St Petersburg, Naples, Sanibel Island and the Treasure Coast….fish are on the move and the spear fishing charters, are getting filled up fast.  Sure April can be one of our windest months, especially Easter week, which can see winds up to 30 mph, not exactly the best weather for a spearfishing tour, but if you play it right and pick your days you can very well have one of the best spearfishing charters of the year!!!  If you are truly after a trophy cobia, amberjack, kingfish then book your spear fishing expedition well in advance, as April has all these brutes off of wrecks dotting both our coasts,  

Jared & Friend  outa Big Pine with some trophy Kings

as well as on the edge of our outer reef which runs along the entire Florida Coast.

If it’s some reef spear hunting you are looking for, make sure to tell your spear fishing guide, because April is sure to please-whether it’s a spearfishing excursion in North Miami’s Haulover, a guided spearfishing trip off the patch reefs in Key Biscayne, or a short spear fishing trip off off Soildier key- muttons are starting to move in (as the May and June spawns are just around the bend), and big hogfish snapper are still hanging around in numbers…..and mammoth grouper (lets not even go there), just a month away (so mark your grouper holes  And while we are talking about guided spearfishing trips in the Florida Keys let’s

Slob mutton, sleep,sleep.

not forget Blackfins are starting to hold up of the humps in Marathon….and another spear fishing world record can be had for sure, hopefully it’ll be on one of our spearfishing charters…chum and they will come!

Florida Hamachi... yum

now)!What about the Florida Keys favorite- Yellowtail snapper? Any of the best Florida Keys reef in 50’-60’ with good current, and a nice chum slick will hold some flags, and some big mules (big Florida Hamachi), hanging in pairs- if your budding up (and you should be) keep the mule you shot in the water, but off the bottom, his buddy will usually circle around long enough for your partner to shoot him too!

Know the telltale signs and read the bait!

Chartered bluewater spearfishing continues to boil into Apri!!!  Mahi are starting to show, what they lack in quantity they make up in quality.  Big bulls are on the loose, the trick is to go out 3-8 miles on light winds (from the SE ideal) and find the birds- a frigate perhaps, or a even a small weedline or floatsum….drift towards it and chances are they’ll be a nice slammer or two 30-40’ below…if you booked the perfect spearfishing trip….this would be the best spearfishing   Keep your eyes on the water…April for some reason makes fish hungry as the water warms up and if you book the best spearfishing captain for your next spearfishing trip, then he/she should know those telltale signs of fish breaking the surface when you’re out on a bluewater spearfishing charter.  On the edge of the first   On one of our spearfishing   Rather than heading in (which would have bummed out my Colorado guests) I made the   This are narrow “alleyways” connecting the bay to the ocean, marked by underwater channels.  It was one of the best spearfishing charters of April as Dad and his 17 year old son filled a cooler with slabbers (big mangrove snapper) up to 6lbs…and get this- in 12’ of water, the bottom of the channel was 16’!

Slabber mango trifecta

expeditions, last April, week of Easter we were spearfishing patch reefs in about 18’ water and the wind spiked.
call to run in to a few areas around Key Biscayne & Government Cut and Haulover I call the creeks.
reef where the color breaks baitfish jumping the surface could be due to cobia, which start their migratory run in April (and its been one of the best years for guided cobia spearfishing thus far)…if its further out it could be a Kingfish wolf pack in hot pursuit of ballyhoo, on the edge or over structure spearfishing trophy experience-right on!kingfish is common on
any spearfishing excursion during April and May. Finally the shallow patch reefs both on the Gulf side and ocean side are starting to get busy as the big mangrove snapper start to occupy it for their coming months of romance, and same holds for the Permits and African Pompano which will soon be headed out to their offshore wrecks (remember both off these can ONLY be shot in federal waters).

Good cuda, brings in the bulls

BEST BET: COBIA COBIA COBIA.  If your going to book a spearfishing expedition for April-Cobia should be on your spear fishing wish list.  Lots of Cobia are moving along our coasts-right now.  You can find them on wrecks, artificial reefs, markers/buoys http://www.floridasportsman.com/sportfish/cobia/#.U2MNV1eI12w   If you see mantas or a huge loggerhead check below as you’ll often see a cobia or two trailing.  If a spearfishing adrenaline rush is what you seek have you spearfishing captain chum and burley (barracuda is  

Roberto on a Cobia=Bull Shark=Cobia

This type of spearfishing is very technical and not for the faint of heart.  It should be coordinated with 2 or more spesro’s in the water each watching each others back….bull sharks aren’t exactly friendly, and can be very unpredictable.
great) some big bull sharks up of a wreck, this is a sure way to find cobia…find the bulls the cobia will follow!

So whether it’s a bluewater spearfishing charter, or a reef spearfishing outing of a lifetime… April has it all!

 

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

 Tone

http://www.settingsteelspeargear.com