PC/PCB Fishing Report 5-9-25
Over the week we have had very good conditions for the most part. The water temperatures nearshore have remained at around 77 degrees. Lots of fish have been caught this week from shore, in the bay, and on the Gulf of America! May is generally a very good month! More kings show up, the mahi start to show in bigger numbers, and offshore picks up as well so most folks can get in on some of the action!
The weather is going to be the big queston this weekend since there will be lots of rain and at somepoint some winds for a short term. So stay aware and keep an eye to the sky and on the radar. Read on for more fishing detail!
Bay Fishing
Trout and reds are working it this time of year. Lets talk trout first. There are lots of trout around and many anglers are getting some really nice fish. Others have found themselves catching one short after another. One of our customers that always gets the big fish swears by getting out really early and having some big pinfish for bait. It works well, especially for bigger trout. If you want to stick to artificials, fluke style baits seemed to work really well again this past week. Other baits are working, but reports have the fish smaller and short of the limit.
The redfish are on the flats with an incoming tide. Find a flat near a drop and work a live shrimp slowly through the grass and potholes. Bring some extra shrimp since the pinfish can be annoying. If they are, try the same with a pinfish or a soft plastic. The live bait will do well on a 1oz Carolina rig.
Othere areas of the bay still have some spanish mackerel around and you can still get some trolling. Around the bridges the redfish are there feeding on bait schools with a moving tide. Most of those redfish are overslot.
*BRAND NEW* Ghost Shrimp FishBites
Get 'em while they're hot! We now have Ghost Shrimp FishBites to pair with your bait.
In May they handed out samples to try that were actually early batches. Reports were excellent. They tweaked and improved a few things and now you absolutely should be using some on your next fishing trip to the beach.
Surf Fishing
The bite for the pompano is still good, but it was a little tougher for some this week with fewer limits being had. The key now is fishing on the cut, or in a pocket. Basically structure. Have the baits set up in different zones, short, long, etc. Since you may have fewer chances, a good practice is to immediately get another bait in the zone you just got the bite. Timing and expedience on this is important. If you have a friend, have them do that while landing the fish. If you are alone, as soon as you get the fish safely on the beach, grab another rod and get it in the same spot.
There are redfish still being caught in close and out a bit. Time of day is very important right now. Early and late are the absolute best. Add an incoming tide to one of those and now you are stacking the advantages!
The whiting have not been super-hot, but there are some nice ones being caught. There have been some ladyfish and some hardtails being activ. One other thing has been some sargassum weed lines making it to shore. At times it has run anglers off, but usually a move can get you back fishing. It generally does not last too long, and there is no real prediction other than hearing about large weed lines just offshore.
If you have kids, then after dark you can catch redfish, bluefish, and on occasional bycatch of the mighty baby shark.
Fish-N-Mate Rake and Spike Carrier
This easy to attach accessory will make your next trip to the beach a whole lot easier! This Rake and Spike holder fits 4 Fish-N-Mate Sand Spikes and a Fish-N-Mate Sand Flea Rake.
Pier Fishing
The kings were not as big on average, but there were a lot more caught this week. Many more schoolie sized were caught with a fish or two in the 20’s caught.
We have had a lot of sargassum making its way to shore. In May that means look for mahi! Well, the word has been just that! You have to be ready for these tasty fish since they just show up randomly so be ready. A Z-Man soft plastic fluke in a light color with some flash works well on these fish especially with good tail movement. Other lures can work too. Some small minced pieces of bait pitch in can fire them up and keep them close.
There has also been some pompano still being caught. Not quite as much as the previous 2 or 3 weeks. The spanish mackerel are still there, as well as some redfish, some finicky sheephead, and a number of undersized cobia.
Bottom Fishing
The red grouper have been the big change. Many anglers have been reporting them as well as some local captains. Captain Eric Wilkas with Semper-Fi charters got into some really big ones this week. Captain Chewey Hartsfield also got into some nice red groupers, as well as numerous private anglers.
The vermillion have just been overly cooperative! Take plenty of squid, and make sure you are using a very small hook. An example of the hook would be like our Mustad 2/0 2x circle hooks. These work great and are strong. The thinner wire tends to penetrate more efficiently. It is of critical importance to do this or you will feed the fish a lot more. You might also pick up a few mangrove snapper too.
Other species of fish you can’t keep, but are eagerly biting include amberjack, gag grouper, and of course the red snapper.
Speaking of red snapper, here are the dates. You best get your captain scheduled or if you are doing a charter. Many spots are already filled.
Open dates:
May 24-26
June 1–30
July 1-31
September 1-14, 19-21, 26-28
October 3-5, 10-12, 17-19, 24-26, 31
Novemeber 1-2, 7-9, 11, 14-16, 21-23, 27-30
December 5-7, 12-14, 19-21, 25-28
Nearshore Trolling
The king mackerel bite is picking up. The kings also like it sloppy. A couple of flatlines bump trolled outside the pass early in the morning might be a good plan since we are having random storms coming in this weekend. Being near the pass allows you to cut and run into safety fairly quickly. There are some kings in the 20’s caught this week, but the schoolie kings have made their way here in some numbers.
Offshore
The offshore bite has picked up! There were some yellowfin, mahi, backfin tuna, and some wahoo caught. Captain Eric Wilkas reported beautiful blue water as close as 17 miles out of the pass. Usually this gets us a push of closer inshore wahoo. It does not seem like many have gotten after them, but if it is still there it might be fantastic!
We have numerous high-speed lures to cover some ground. The Nomad Madmacs and Yo-Zuri Bonita are great choices for this. We can rig these for you in the shop while you wait. The rigging can be done however you like. Many choose 300lb to 400lb mono, while others choose stainless wire. The theory is the heavy mono gets more bites but may require some repair if scuffed while the wire holds up without much maintenance.
