If you are looking for a fantastic deep sea fishing destination, look no farther than Palm Beach Gardens Florida. During the end of spring/beginning of summer months is an excellent time to fish for a wide range of species including yellowfin tuna, white marlin, tarpon, great barracuda, and wahoo. In this article you will find information about fishing charters in the Palm Beach Gardens area, the baits to use, rod and reel recommendations, and other general information.
Fishing Charters:
Captain Jack’s Fishing Charters. Captain Jack provides offshore fishing adventures in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida’s East Coast. On these deep sea adventures, you will have the opportunity to fish for the following species, wahoo, kingfish, dolphin (mahi), cobia, grouper, and snapper. He also offers inshore fishing on a 26-foot center console boat for snook, tarpon, pompano, permit, Spanish mackerel, jack crevalle, and sheepshead among many others. Captain Jack is particularly fond of fishing for yellowtail and mutton snapper species and snook. There are packages available for individuals, couples, and groups. Groups of more than 6 will require a second boat. All packages include fishing licenses, water, rods and reels, tackle, and dead bait. Live bait is available to be purchased separately. For prices, contact the Captain at 561-308-7578
Pushin’ Water Kayak Fishing Charters. This charter service offers both offshore and inshore fishing adventures and provides packages for all levels of experience. The packages range from $75 to $299. The $75 package is a sightseeing tour and includes a trip through the mangrove forest in an attempt to see manatees and dolphins as well as various bird species. There is a two person minimum for the adventure. For $260 you can take an inshore adventure to fish for snook, redfish, tarpon, seatrout, pompano, tripletail, bonefish, and sharks. The $260 is for one angler, each additional angler is an additional $100. All equipment and bait is included. For $299 you can go offshore fishing for sharks, kingfish, mahi, wahoo, cobia, snapper, sailfish, and tuna.
Now, let’s talk tackle. If you are not taking a charter to fish, you will need to have all of the necessary equipment yourself. Each species of fish requires a certain bait, line strength, and pole type. Therefore, it is best to know as much as possible about the equipment you will need beforehand. Here is a short list of some of the most popular fish in the Palm Beach area and the necessary equipment.
First up is tarpon. While tarpon does not have any teeth, their bony jaws are rough, much like sandpaper. Therefore, the standard for the line when going after these fish is a 50-pound test braided line. Be sure you have a spool of at least 250-300 yards. As for a leader, it is recommended to use 60- to 80- pound test fluorocarbon. Next up, hooks. Circle hooks are your best bet with tarpon, preferably 6/0 to 10/0. Circle hooks are less likely to gut hook your tarpon and seat much better than the classic “J” hooks. It is also important to have a sturdy pair of gloves when tarpon fishing to avoid getting cut while handling the fish. Tarpon feeds mostly on baitfish; this includes grunts, mutton minnows, pinfish, pilchards, and threadfin herring. You should only use artificial lures in you are looking for more of a challenge. If you do decide to try artificial lures, go for a topwater plug, or a soft plastic swimbait rigged to a jighead, depending on where they are currently feeding.
Next up is the snook. Unlike many fish in this area, snook does not always do best with live bait. That is not to say that live bait doesn’t work, only that it is not a requirement. You will need a good strong line, circle hooks and a strong leader (but make sure the leader is not a higher test than the mainline). If you do want to use live bait, you can use mullet, ladyfish, ballyhoo, grunts, pigfish, shrimp, and pinfish just to name a few. If, on the other side of fishing, you decide to use artificial lures here is a list of what works best and the depth to use them for. First off, a shallow depth which is anything under two feet of water. Here, you should use topwater plugs and hard plastic suspending jerk baits. For mid-depth (two feet to five feet) you will use jigs, bucktails, swimbaits, and small lipped crankbaits. For deep water, which is categorized as anything over five feet of water, you will use large lipped crankbaits, swimbaits, heavier jigs and bucktails.
After enjoying some amazing fishing, you may be interested in moving to the Palm Beach Gardens area. If that is the case you will definitely want to check out Echo Fine Properties in Palm Beach Gardens! You won’t be sorry you did!