Good Snapper Fishing

This week has brought exciting action on the water, with anglers reeling in some fantastic catches both from the drift boats and sportfish boats. Drift Boat Action: The drift boats have been on a hot streak, especially with snapper catches. Yellowtail snapper and mangrove snapper are abundant, with anglers reporting consistent action throughout the day. Even some big mutton snapper have been making an appearance, offering a thrilling fight for those lucky enough to hook one. Additionally, a few nice kingfish have been caught recently, alongside the fast and aggressive cero mackerel and Spanish mackerel, providing a variety of species to target. Sportfishing Highlights: Sportfish boats are seeing a great mix of fish, typical for this time of year. Mahi mahi are still being caught in good numbers, while barracuda continue to give anglers a run for their money. Kingfish are still on the bite, and the bigger fish like amberjack are also proving to be a worthy adversary. Blackfin tuna are adding excitement to the action, with some nice-sized ones showing up in the catch reports. For those after a true challenge, the elusive sailfish and wahoo have started making there appearance in our waters. Big game sharks are also in the area, providing a thrilling experience for those targeting them. It’s a fantastic time to be out on the water, with a great mix of species available for anglers of all levels. The weather has been cooperating, adding to the overall excitement of the season’s fishing opportunities.

Some nice mutton snappers are hitting the dock this week on our daily drift fishing trips. Mutton snappers are the biggest snappers we catch and February is generally a GREAT month to target them. For muttons, use a ballyhoo plug or any similar streamline bait that doesn't spin. Muttons are smart so you need to freespool to them to let them get that bait down their mouth before you set the hook. It can take some time to get a feel for hooking muttons but once you get it, it's easy! Plenty of yellowtail and mangrove snappers biting this week too. Let's go fishing!

The larger migratory fish are starting to move through. Some big mutton snappers, decent sized kingfish and groupers/jacks on the bottom are providing some bigger catches mixed in with our good numbers of yellowtail snapper, porgies, grunts and triggers. Drifting and/or anchor fishing is doing well on all these bottom fish species as well as some pelagics too. We saw a whale on our trip yesterday which is really rare for south Florida. Whales usually have a full ecosystem of fish following behind them, so it is a really good omen. Sea ya out there! Capt. Andy Roydhouse