What's up with the Kingfish?
Strange how our fishing is soooooo unpredictable. We have an insane shrimping season. Then the mahi never really showed up in usual force. We had an awesome cobia season, but the kingfish havn't shown up in any numbers on schedule. The tarpon are finally here, but the masses seemed to scoot past us and congregate in Georgia. What gives? Are any of you noticing real clues that can explain any of this? The water is a bit colder than usual this year right? More salinity? What can help explain these things, and where the heck are all the kingfish at? It seems like the king fishing is harder than it's ever been this time of year, but how is that possible after so many other great fishing seasons?
Any ideas? Are they still offshore? What needs to happen before they will show? I thought the full moon would have the smokers all over our beach, what gives?
Any ideas? Are they still offshore? What needs to happen before they will show? I thought the full moon would have the smokers all over our beach, what gives?
Tony Eden-
Certified, licsensed and insured, Marine Electronics and rigging master, and "Dream boat" build winner with 20 years of professional experience.
Boattronics.net
Over 80 seperate, recent reviews from captains on this forum-
http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?5295-Recent-Boattronics-reviews!
Please call with any questions or a free estimate for the lowest price/best work available!
904-545-1270
Certified, licsensed and insured, Marine Electronics and rigging master, and "Dream boat" build winner with 20 years of professional experience.
Boattronics.net
Over 80 seperate, recent reviews from captains on this forum-
http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?5295-Recent-Boattronics-reviews!
Please call with any questions or a free estimate for the lowest price/best work available!
904-545-1270
Replies
Certified, licsensed and insured, Marine Electronics and rigging master, and "Dream boat" build winner with 20 years of professional experience.
Boattronics.net
Over 80 seperate, recent reviews from captains on this forum-
http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?5295-Recent-Boattronics-reviews!
Please call with any questions or a free estimate for the lowest price/best work available!
904-545-1270
David
Not much gets by this special agent from NOOA.
Ha! I know the snapper pop. is hurting everything else visiting the reefs, these days you have to be an expert at NOT catching red snapper to catch anything else. Crazy times. Overfishing? I would lean more towards mother nature, something else is going on. But I know the commercail guys have been hammering them the last few years extra hard.
Certified, licsensed and insured, Marine Electronics and rigging master, and "Dream boat" build winner with 20 years of professional experience.
Boattronics.net
Over 80 seperate, recent reviews from captains on this forum-
http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?5295-Recent-Boattronics-reviews!
Please call with any questions or a free estimate for the lowest price/best work available!
904-545-1270
I've seen the commercials (in the past) circle wrecks over and over again, hauling fish after fish until it's dried up and they move on to the next spot. That certainly doesn't help anything but I doubt it's anything new either.
NOAA/SAFMC DISCLAIMER: Fishing over time is always cyclical depending on lots of environmental issues like water temps, ocean currents, salinity levels, etc.. The ocean is vast, so just because they are not hot within a boat ride of our local inlets right now does not mean that the species is overfished or currently undergoing overfishing.
Certified, licsensed and insured, Marine Electronics and rigging master, and "Dream boat" build winner with 20 years of professional experience.
Boattronics.net
Over 80 seperate, recent reviews from captains on this forum-
http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?5295-Recent-Boattronics-reviews!
Please call with any questions or a free estimate for the lowest price/best work available!
904-545-1270
"Three-fourths of the Earth's surface is water, and one-fourth is land. It is quite clear that the good lord intended us to spend triple the amount of time fishing as taking care of the lawn." :fishing
sorry for the rant, but I saw this coming the day I rolled up on 30+ commercial boats one day in the winter of 09.
Makes me think about snapper. Even though they are rediculously abundant, I hope they ease into limits because we are on the radar now like never before, everyone knows how rediculous our snapper population is. I'd hate to see it exploited.
Talked to a couple differant captains today that have been working it hard, no kings to speak of.
Certified, licsensed and insured, Marine Electronics and rigging master, and "Dream boat" build winner with 20 years of professional experience.
Boattronics.net
Over 80 seperate, recent reviews from captains on this forum-
http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?5295-Recent-Boattronics-reviews!
Please call with any questions or a free estimate for the lowest price/best work available!
904-545-1270
I don't know where you got that but I have been preaching that for years. I believe that most things are cyclical. 10 years ago, we routinely caught yellowfin tuna this side of the gulf stream, not any more. 6 or 7 years ago in the Bluewater Tournament, you needed a 50 lb dolphin just to get on the board...this year, the board was full of small fish. Wahoo fishing has been on a steady decline the last few years, IMO. From a pelagic viewpoint, it looks like sailfish have been getting better here. Recreational swordfishing had a resurgence 6 or 7 years ago and has virtually disappeared again. Maybe the entire fishing community is looking in the wrong place but I believe that for whatever reason, we are on a down cycle.
Tend to agree. I also agree with your thoughts about a resident population as well as fish that migrate through. Every year, there are quite a few big wahoo caught on the party grounds. Those are resident fish and not migrating. I didn't quite see 30 but I did see a bunch of the kingfish boats at Elton a few times the last 2 to 3 years.
However, I did witness first hand, how my commercail customers switched from bottom fish, to kingfish and others to try and hang in there when the bottom closures put most of them out of business. Suddenly, guys that had bottom fished thier whole lives were now pulling a full spread of spoons for kings. That's right, nothing fancy, but an entire spread of spoons. Must have been effective because a good day was over a thousand pounds of king mackeral.
I hope I'm right on the cyclical opinion! An impact like that in just a few years due to overfishing is just plain scary. But I think they either havn't shown up just yet or it is an off season due to good ole Mother Nature. I think she is better at taking care of herself than we realise.
I sure hope that 30 boat comment was an exageration Lyle! I've never seen anything remotely close to that. I have noticed a few boats were here from out of town though. "What ya fishing for?" I would ask.... "Kingfish".............
Certified, licsensed and insured, Marine Electronics and rigging master, and "Dream boat" build winner with 20 years of professional experience.
Boattronics.net
Over 80 seperate, recent reviews from captains on this forum-
http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?5295-Recent-Boattronics-reviews!
Please call with any questions or a free estimate for the lowest price/best work available!
904-545-1270
Now, whether the poor mackeral fishing is due to the commercial take or the cyclical nature of fish in gerneral I don't know.
Brian
www.InshoreAdventures.net
There's your answer........
The commercial massacre being talked about is beyond comprehension. It's like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs and then expecting it to lay more eggs next year.
Stamas Marine
Right Spot Charters Inc.
Skeeter/Yamaha Pro team member
[email protected]
904-759-1033
http://www.rightspotcharters.com/ Call me for any of for inshore nearshore and offshore fishing charters!!!
When that water temp is steady at 80 or so degrees, and drops to 74 overnight, it's kady-bar-the-door, for a while....cause those kings won't bite until they get acclimated to it again. Most will find warmer water, while others will hang around, they just won't bite. I don't understand it, but they just won't...I have seen fish swim right along under my boat, during a thermocline, and they will not bite...just swim there, like a cuda or something....and it was definitely kings, seen it many times too.
Then again I have caught fish, down off Naples in March.....where we looked for and hoped for 65 degree water....and caught 'em!!.....so go figure.
It's not the 74 degree temps that make them not bite.......It's the sudden drop that screws 'em up.
Sometimes they'll find another place to go that has enough food and warmer water to keep 'em happy. But if there's no food to go to, they'll hang right here even during the coldest thermoclines....and you'll think they are gone.....as long as the bait stays here through it too.
But if it's a strong thermocline, and the bait disappears too, you might as well go sea bass fishin' , cause that's all you are gonna find. That and Cobia :Rockon
Just sayin'.....
Steve
I tend to agree that fishing is cyclical. I also agree that bluewater fishing seems to have been worse the past 3-4 years......but the bottom fishing seemed to be some of the best during that time...wonder if that will flip around.
Steve you have a PM.