Stable weather moves king mackerel near shore

Stable weather has finally brought the king mackerel back to their normal summer stomping grounds, and this time, hopefully, for quite a while. What great weather we have had this past weekend and this week. The winds have been light and it’s been hot, but I was kind of ready for a little of the heat. It seems like forever that we have had topsy-turvy weather; one week hot, the next cold with lots of wind. Let’s hope that we can maintain the stability and the fish can feel as comfortable as possible, just before we swoop in and catch them.

It was nice to see all the fishermen on the water over the weekend. It is no doubt true the economy is likely partially to blame for less fishing, but the weather certainly plays an important part. On Sunday, the seas were glassy flat and hundreds of boats, big and small, ran offshore to the edge of the Gulf Stream to get into the red-hot dolphin bite that has been taking place. The boats that fished under slightly rougher conditions on Saturday crushed the dolphin and wahoo, and the good fishing continued on Sunday. The only problem was the pie could only be cut so many ways, as more fishermen means fewer fish for everyone. Luckily the pie was so big that almost everyone caught plenty of dolphin to fill the cooler and provide lots of thrills.

Meanwhile, other fishermen who decided to stay closer to shore and fish for king mackerel also had great success. The Atlantic ledge and jungle produced good numbers of school kings in the range of 8-12 pounds. On Monday, Capt. Roger Gales guided the Power family from Charlotte to the 390/390 bottom, where it found the kings biting well. The family of first-timers caught its limit of kings up to 20 pounds in only a few short hours.

All this action bodes well as we are now entering June. Typically June 15 to July 15 is peak summer fishing in our area, and judging on how things are going now, the fishing will be great.

BRANT McMULLAN is a charter captain and fishing columnist for the Beacon. Reach him at captbrant@oifishingcenter.com.