Replies

• 101grunts Posts: 138 Deckhand

  May 2017 #2

  VICENTE what is your targeted species, if it's dolphin then you are doing what most people do that includes me, dolphin are just starting to show up we went out last saturday to 1200' east of key biscayne horrrible winds and waves and got two dolphins 24", we'll try again this saturday if winds calm down,can't get'em if you don't put a baited hook in the water.

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• MGD Posts: 1,253 Officer

  May 2017 #3

  Maybe give us an example of what u are trolling
  U say bally
  How many lines? Lures over them? Skirts? Single or double hooked? Mono leaders?
  And you might need to go a lot deeper especially as summer comes

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• Rebait2003 Posts: 122 Deckhand

  May 2017 #4

  vicente wrote: »

  Hi folks,
  Sorry for the message but I really would like to get some help from experienced fishermen. We go out almost every weekend leaving from Crandon park in key Biscayne to catch live bait. Then we go to the 800/900 ft and start trolling with rigged ballys for hours at a speed of 6 - 7 knots for hours but we don't get a single bite... We have been doing this for a long time and it's frustrating. We look for birds, patches etc... Is there a specific latitude and longitude we should be going?
  Are we doing something wrong?
  Thanks for the advice and your time.

  
  http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?242146-How-to-fish-for-Mahi
  
  A lot of good info here!!

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• vicente Posts: 4 Greenhorn

  May 2017 #5

  MGD wrote: »

  Maybe give us an example of what u are trolling
  U say bally
  How many lines? Lures over them? Skirts? Single or double hooked? Mono leaders?
  And you might need to go a lot deeper especially as summer comes

  
  Hello,
  
  We normally troll with two lines on the outriggers and two inside. The outside lines we normally put them far away and the ones inside closer to the boat. We use metal rigged ballys with double hooks (we buy them from bait shops) and put sometimes skirts on top of them (yellow or green... bright colors). We go out to the 900 and start trolling at 6-7 knots but not a single bite.
  
  This past weekend we couldn't troll much because the ballys were constantly getting entagled with little weed patches. We tried with some live bait but without luck too.
  
  Thanks a lot

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• vicente Posts: 4 Greenhorn

  May 2017 #6

  101grunts wrote: »

  VICENTE what is your targeted species, if it's dolphin then you are doing what most people do that includes me, dolphin are just starting to show up we went out last saturday to 1200' east of key biscayne horrrible winds and waves and got two dolphins 24", we'll try again this saturday if winds calm down,can't get'em if you don't put a baited hook in the water.

  
  We try to go for dolphin and some kings if they are around... we have tried bottom fishing too but without luck either.

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• Gettinthere Posts: 55 Deckhand

  May 2017 #7

  I think you shouldnt confine yourself to a depth range and instead you should focus on signs of life. Debris , birds, weed, rips or eddys. Some times these can be 7 miles out, other times 20 miles out. Also I wouldnt use the wire rigged ballyhoos. Mono either rigged yourself (plenty of videos on youtube) or buy them rigged from your tackle shop. Skirts work but a small chugger head or islander would definitely add some action to your spread. If you are getting live bait I would start my day early and run around looking for life and trolling till about 11 am and then set up on the edge drifting from 100-250 ft with live baits on circle hooks on the surface, midwater, and on the bottom. This should get you some action.

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• Ol Blu Posts: 40 Deckhand

  May 2017 #8

  Gettinthere wrote: »

  I think you shouldnt confine yourself to a depth range and instead you should focus on signs of life. Debris , birds, weed, rips or eddys. Some times these can be 7 miles out, other times 20 miles out. Also I wouldnt use the wire rigged ballyhoos. Mono either rigged yourself (plenty of videos on youtube) or buy them rigged from your tackle shop. Skirts work but a small chugger head or islander would definitely add some action to your spread. If you are getting live bait I would start my day early and run around looking for life and trolling till about 11 am and then set up on the edge drifting from 100-250 ft with live baits on circle hooks on the surface, midwater, and on the bottom. This should get you some action.

  
  Gettinhtere provides good advice and so do others here. In particular if you carefully follow gettinthere advice your fishing will become very productive as the dolphin start to arrive ....which is very soon.
  
  Good luck and don't get discouraged.

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• vicente Posts: 4 Greenhorn

  May 2017 #9

  Gettinthere wrote: »

  I think you shouldnt confine yourself to a depth range and instead you should focus on signs of life. Debris , birds, weed, rips or eddys. Some times these can be 7 miles out, other times 20 miles out. Also I wouldnt use the wire rigged ballyhoos. Mono either rigged yourself (plenty of videos on youtube) or buy them rigged from your tackle shop. Skirts work but a small chugger head or islander would definitely add some action to your spread. If you are getting live bait I would start my day early and run around looking for life and trolling till about 11 am and then set up on the edge drifting from 100-250 ft with live baits on circle hooks on the surface, midwater, and on the bottom. This should get you some action.

  
  Thank you guys! We will try again tomorrow morning and will follow your advice. Thanks again for the warm welcome and your advice.

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