June is here and with June comes the beginning of what the weather forecasters so fondly call “the rainy season” for all of Florida, not just us here at the southern end of the peninsula. There is rain in the forecast for every day for weeks as we live up to our tropical reputation. This doesn’t mean that it will rain every day, nor does it mean to leave the sunscreen at home, because no sunscreen would be a serious mistake.
BTW if you forget your sunscreen as some do we have plenty aboard the Marlin My Darlin. If there for some reason was to be none aboard I will be happy to give you some of mine as 45 years of South Florida sun has taught me to carry 2 or 3 in my briefcase no matter what month it is here. But most showers are brief and pass through quickly, with many days of showers to the west of us never coming out to the East. That being said we just went through 6 days of gloom here with more rain than I can recall in all those sun burnt years. But sunny days are right around the corner (thankfully) and here is what to expect offshore in June.
June is Mahi-Mahi season and these colorful fish are front and center for the majority of most all of the local fishermen. June still holds some reasonable odds of encountering them within a few miles of shore, but as we get deeper into the summer out in the deep will be best. If you treasure the Mahi as so many do be prepared to spend some time offshore and also to spend some fuel money as we progress through the month and into the summer. An all day charter is certainly the way to go and another fish, the Swordfish, is a good and popular target what with many a day offering close tocalm seas. Best to spend all day when fishing for a Sword too. Those Mahi and Swords along with some Wahoo and Tripletails on current edges and floatsam will be there all summer, but not every day is a home run as once you leave the reefs edge it is a big ocean with many variables that can and often do change from day to day. Always the possibility of a Blue or White Marlin paying a visit but that is a special and not that common occurrence. Fat and powerful Skipjack Tunas out there too.
Along and in the immediate vicinity of the reefs which are so very close to shore here Kingfish and Blackfin Tuna are regulars. The large numbers of Blackfins we caught the last three months will thin considerably. The good news is that larger ones that have essentially replaced them are here and good fun. The Kingfish can be very obliging on many days and some are of good size. There will be Wahoo along the reefs and we will catch them, but not in the numbers we saw this Winter or expect to see this Fall. Expect some Sailfish around the reefs too with a few also seen out in the deep far from shore. Little Tunny (we call them Bonito) can be very common around the reefs.
As for the bottom we will see snappers and the deep waterTile fishing on many days should be excellent. The big Amberjacks will still be a possibility but smaller but still decent sized Almoco
Jacks will be more common.
For those who wish to tangle with a Shark the high season is fading but many will still be caught. More Sandbar Sharks than Hammerheads now. Great time to target a true Bull Shark as they will spend a lot of their evening hours inside of 60 feet of water. A curse if you are a snapper fisherman, a truly good pull when you plant a hook in the corner of their mouth for fun. Take a picture, catch and release. Just because “Well they didn’t leave us any Buffalo” doesn’t hold water anymore.
