With Brody on the mend, it’s time to prep for offshore fishing

With Brody still in a head cone and not allowed on the boat, I cannot bring myself to go fishing without him.

 

Brody knows my routine. When I put on sunscreen, sunglasses, buff, and a hat, he knows I am going fishing. So, Brody runs to the backdoor and blocks me from leaving without him. Thus, I am not fishing until Brody is cleared by the veterinarian. Hopefully, later this week.

 

Until then, Brody and I are keeping ourselves occupied by getting ready to go fishing. 

 

In May, our focus will be offshore with mahi and marlin as our target species. This requires us to prepare two sets of trolling tackle: a 30-pound class tackle for mahi and a 50-pound class tackle for marlin. We also have to rig a plethora of trolling lures. When fishing offshore, preparation is critical to success.

 

The ocean is a big place. However, most of the baitfish and predators typically congregate in a small area. Selecting the right area to fish is the difference between being a hero or zero. Of all the preparation that goes into offshore fishing, selecting the right pocket of water is perhaps the most important.

 

For those of you without a fish-finding and stock-trading dog, I recommend subscribing to a sea surface temperature service. These services provide near real-time satellite data on sea surface temperature, watercolor, and current flow.

 

My favorite service is RipCharts. However, there are a number of great services available. Before heading offshore, I use RipCharts to identify water temperatures and current breaks. Historically, these areas have been highly productive places to fish. Successful offshore fishing requires a lot of planning and preparation. It is a lot of work. But when the line screams off the reel and a mahi or marlin begins jumping beside the boat, it is definitely worth it!

 

Recently, I have received a number of emails with questions about offshore fishing. So many that I can’t answer them all through this article. It has been a while since I have done a community fishing class. If it helps, I am happy to put a session together on offshore fishing.

 

Send me an email and let me know if this is of interest.

 

Contact Captain Greg Peralta at captgregp@gmail.com or call (843) 224-0099.