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Jupiter & Palm Beach Offshore Saltwater Fishing Report
Capt. Rob Mazzei
February 2, 2000
Jupiter - Saltwater Fishing Report
Being that I've been beating the sailfish reports to death, I'll report on the good kingfishing and bottom fishing that took place this past week.
While some people want to try their hand at catching the elusive Atlantic sailfish, others are content to spend the day catching dinner. We ate well this week!
Snapper and grouper were caught in 60 - 110 feet from just south of Palm Beach to up around Jupiter Inlet. Grouper move in to spawning this time of year and once located, you can usually catch several from the same general location. 30-50 pound tackle is recommended.
Snapper were caught from the same areas as well. You can get away with lighter tackle, especially for yellowtails. Mutton snapper can be very leader shy, and you may have to go even lighter and use a 5 - 15 foot leader. You must be on the bottom to be productive. Frozen sardines are deadly on snapper, but for grouper, live bait is often used to lure these fat bottom dwellers away from the structure. Finger mullet, pinfish, goggle-eyes, sardines and greenies are all excellent baits. A commercial fisherman told me his secret to the largest grouper is to bridle a live bullet bonita immediately and send him down to the bottom. He had four or five huge gag grouper. His hot spot was a secret, although he did mention 80-100 feet.
Depending on the current, up to 16 ounces of lead may be used to keep the bait on the bottom. I will usually just drift over the reef until fish are located, and then concentrate in that area.
While drifting, I will also put out several flat lines on or near the surface. We are basically fishing the same areas as kingfish, bonita, cobia and sometimes sailfish frequent.
As far as live bait goes, it is pretty scarce. There are greenies moving into the Jupiter area. This past Monday out of Palm Beach Inlet, all I could manage was a bunch of blue runners, which if not too big, make great all around baits. If you don't want the hassle of catching or buying live baits, triple hooked frozen sardines work well and catch pretty much everything out there, at one time or another. A box or two will last an outing, unless the bite is hot. By the time you run out, you'll probably have a cooler full of fish.
Until next week, keep your lines tight and "good fishing"!
Captain Rob Mazzei
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