Fishing report
SOUTH FLORIDA OFFSHORE
Fishing for dolphin has been good this week. Capt. Tony DiGiulian said fish 10-25 pounds were biting in 400-800 feet. Sailfish and bait have also been plentiful. Capt. Mario Coté of Hollywood had kingfish and some sailfish earlier in the week fishing out of Port Everglades Inlet.
THE KEYS
Tim Davis of Gladesman Outfitters said the dolphin bite has been great this week out of Key Largo. He caught 20-pounders plus schoolies 10-12 pounds trolling ballyhoo and yellow-and-green feathers and casting pink jigs along weedlines and under birds in 800 feet. On Thursday he had an “epic” yellowtail snapper bite, with fish 2-4 pounds biting in 90-120 feet. “The key was using extremely light line in the sand balls,” Davis said.
SOUTH FLORIDA INSHORE
Sea trout and mangrove snappers were biting in Everglades National Park.
EVERGLADES/FRESHWATER
Low water levels have lots of bass and panfish biting in the canals at Everglades Holiday Park, Sawgrass Recreation Park and in the canals along Alligator Alley and the Broward-Palm Beach county line. Some peacock bass were biting in the Lake Ida chain of lakes.
LAKE OKEECHOBEE
With water levels low, the best bet for most anglers is to fish in the rim canal. Bass were biting crankbaits and plastic worms around rockpiles and bluegills were biting red worms.
OUTDOORS NOTEBOOK
Bass tournament: The Bass-N-Fools club has its 38th annual Spring Fling team bass tournament Sunday out of Everglades Holiday Park. Call 954-475-0248 or register early at BJ’s Bait and Tackle in Plantation.
Pier cleanup: The third annual Stoked on Salt Earth Day Shoreline & Pier Cleanup is 8-11 a.m. Saturday at Anglin’s Pier at the end of Commercial Boulevard in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. Certified scuba divers are needed to remove debris from the water around the pier and shoreline volunteers also are needed. Visit SOS Ocean CleanUp on Facebook or call Gold Coast Scuba at 954-616-5909.
Grouper season: The season for several grouper species, including gag, black, red, yellowmouth and yellowfin, opens Monday in state and federal waters of the Atlantic, including state waters off Monroe County. The season remains open through Dec. 31. Recreational anglers can keep three groupers per day, but only one gag or black grouper (not both). Visit myfwc.com/fishing. Sportfish tournament: The Yamaha Contender Miami Sportfish Tournament is May 6 out of Miami Beach Marina. The kickoff party is 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday at the marina. Fishing is 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eligible species are dolphin, kingfish, wahoo, cobia, tuna and mutton snapper. The entry fee for up to four anglers is $700 per boat and there are numerous value-added categories. Visit miamisportfish.com. Hunter safety: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has hunter safety Internet-completion courses May 6, 13 and 28 in Broward County and May 7 in Palm Beach County. Students who complete the online portion attend the course. To find out the location of the courses, register at myfwc.com/huntersafety or call 561-625-5122.