This year has undoubtedly been a different one, we are seeing fish patterns that are new to us at Good Hit!

Let me Start with the bottom fishing: this July and even into the beginning of August, we are seeing the best bottom bite on the east coast. We have been catching Mutton Snapper, Greater Amber Jacks, and Grouper, and When the current has cooperated, we are seeing mutton snappers that are double the size of our normal Fort Lauderdale Snapper. To Target, these fish, we prefer to anchor the boat. In certain conditions, we will hold the boat on shipwrecks, and at other times we can drift. The standard setup is two lines on the bottom; the preferred rig is a 30-50lb rod with a 60lb fluorocarbon leader. We at Good Hit, prefer circle hooks for most fishing styles, especially for bottom fishing.

Learn more about Mutton Snapper on the FWC website: https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/saltwater/snapper/mutton-snapper/

Let’s talk about the other style that has also been very successful this summer, and that’s trolling.

We do not normally troll at Good Hit Sportfishing, but it has been producing big fish week after week. We have been trolling Bonita strips with secret-colored sea witches. I would tell you the color combos, but I would be letting out the secrets – I guess you have to find out for yourself. The trolling bite is best around the full moon; my rule of thumb is a week before the full and a week after the full (that’s when I saw the best results for trolling.) The fish we target are Wahoo. These fish are great to eat, fun to catch, and the second fastest in the ocean. It can be a love-hate relationship sometimes with wahoo. When these fish bite, they bite, and when they are not biting, you can not buy a bite. Buyers beware of targeting the elusive striped wahoo fish. We also get lots of bycatch targeting wahoo, Kingfish, bonitos, selfish, and tunas. So with these tactics, it’s still a possibility to catch other species.

Learn More about Wahoo at NOAA’s website: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/atlantic-wahoo

Story of the Month Goes out to Captain Chad on Good Hit 2.0, where he targeted a fish that hasn’t Been caught in quite some time. So Chad made a special rig in search of the Warsaw Grouper. A Deep water grouper that hasn’t been seen in the area in years. The rig that chad Made was a 100lb rig with a large circle hook; the bait of choice was a few belly strips of Bonita, which turned out to be productive. The fight lasted for 25 mins in 400’ of water on a local shipwreck. We fish around the structure near the bottom as these groupers love structure and big baits. When Captain Chad Hooked up to this Monster, the battle was on and our angler did his best to reel it up, and when it finally surfaced, the entire boat was in shock. Way to go, Captain Chad and Crew!!!