Once various fish take up residence at these artificial reefs they will continue to live there and attract sport-fishing anglers and scuba divers. Scuba divers not only gather mussels and spear fish; they bless the land-lovers by shooting splendid underwater photographs.
Check out our chart below to see which time of year your target fish can be found
May |
June |
July |
Aug. |
Sept. |
Oct. |
Bluefish
 |
Bluefish
|
Sharks
 |
Marlin
 |
Tuna
 |
Tuna
|
Sharks
|
Sharks
|
Dolphin
 |
Tuna
|
Dolphin
|
Dolphin
|
|
Tuna
|
Marlin
 |
Dolphin
|
Marlin
|
Marlin
|
|
Dolphin
|
Bluefin Tuna
|
Wahoo
 |
Wahoo
|
Wahoo
|
|
Marlin
|
Yellowfin Tuna
 |
|
Shark
|
Shark
|
It is necessary to mind your manners and keep within the legal size limit lest you tempt the law and ruin your boating experience with a costly fine. These regulations are in place to protect our fish from over-fishing and endangerment of extinction. Practice catch and release when you have reached your limit or if your catch isn't within the regulation size.
Creel size and Limit
|
Size (in inches) |
Limit (per angler) |
Bluefish |
8" |
10 |
Flounder  |
17" |
8 |
Tautog  |
14" |
5 |
Black Drum  |
16" |
1 |
Red Drum or 
Channel Bass |
18" min
27" max |
1 |
King Mackerel |
24" |
3 |
Sheepshead  |
14 |
5 |
Codfish  |
21" |
10 |
Gray Triggerfish  |
14" |
5 |
Sailfish  |
63" |
1 |
Dolphin (mahi mahi) |
18" |
10 |
White Marlin  |
66" |
1 per boat |
Croaker or Hardhead  |
9" |
25 |
Spotted Sea Trout .gif) |
14" |
10 |
Weakfish  |
13" |
8 |
Black Sea Bass  |
12" |
25 |
Rockfish or Striped Bass  |
28" |
2 |
Porgy or Scup  |
8" |
50 |
Spanish Mackerel  |
14" |
15 |
Amberjack  |
28" |
1 |
Spadefish  |
14" |
5 |
Bluefin Tuna |
27" |
|
Cobia  |
33" |
2 |
Blue Marlin |
96" |
1 per boat |
Tips for Catching and Releasing Fish
By carefully following these simple instructions, you can release your fish unharmed.
Time is of the essence. Play and release the fish as quickly and carefully as possible. An exhausted fish may be too weak to recover. It is so important to act as quickly as possible or the fish will become too fatigued to survive. Imagine how you would struggle if held underwater, well the fish is out of its environment and struggling is natural. To calm the fish hold it in an upside down position. The fish is covered with a slime that protects it from infection, thus it is important to handle the fish as gently, but firmly, as not to drop it .Remember some fish have spines that are covered with the same slime we discussed earlier and if your skin is punctured you could end up with a nasty infection.
Keep the fish in the water as much as you can. A fish out of water is suffocating, and may injure itself on rocks, etc. Try to keep the fish out of water no more than 15 seconds.
Be gentle. Wet your hands before handling any live fish. Keep your fingers away from the gills. Don't squeeze the fish. Small fish may be held gently around the middle; let them swim away once they've recovered. Larger fish may be held securely by the tail and bottom jaw. If a net is used, make sure it is fine-meshed to avoid injuries to the gills or eyes.
Remove the hook with small needle-nose pliers or a similar type tool such as a J-Hook Remover. 
If the hook is deeply embedded or in a sensitive area such as the gills or stomach, cut the leader close to the snout. . . Circle Hooks  will prevent gut hooking and removing the hook will be considerably easier.
Make an effort to use regular steel (bronzed) hooks to promote early disintegration. Do not use stainless or gold-plated hooks. If the hook is too difficult to remove, simply cut the leader as close to the fish as possible. Most often the hook will come out by itself or simply disintegrate.
To revive a fish Some fish will have expanded air bladders after being pulled up rapidly from deep water. If the belly appears expanded, release the fish from the hook first, then gently press your thumb along the stomach near the paired belly fins and move it forward a few times to remove air from the bladder.
You aren’t finished… when possible, hold the fish in a swimming position with one hand under it’s bottom jaw and the other hand grasping the fish in front of the tail. Gently move the fish back and forth through the water until it is revived enough to swim away.
One good way to aid you in releasing your fish quickly is to use barbless hooks in the first place - or bend the barbs over - or simply file them off!
Popular Fishing Spots
Tips on How to Release a Tangled Line
Whether surf fishing, inshore fishing, jetty fishing, or offshore fishing, you will eventually have your line look like a birds nest.
- Stop as soon as you discover you have a problem.
- Check out the tangle, it may be as simple as releasing a single loop.
- Release any loops that are entangled in the reel first.
- Pull the trapped loops free from tightened sections.
- Take your time making sure you keep the loose coils out of your way.
-
Now that your tangle is free check for reel damage to see if that is the source of your tangle.
Special Tip: If this birds nest has the best of you after three minutes, cut the line.
I did read in Readers Digest: To loosen a tangled fishing line, spray it with WD-40 and use a pin to undo any small knots. Also use WD-40 to extend the life of curled (but not too old) fishing lines. Just take out the first 10 to 20 feet of line and spray it with WD-40 the night before each trip.
Hint: It is important that you never use a cleaner-degreaser, such as WD-40, inside the reel. It could cause damage to any felt drag washers and create a real mess.
OUCH!
Sometimes, it is not only the fish that need releasing from the hook.
The most important tool any angler should always have with him/her for removing a hook is a sharp pair of wire cutting pliers.
Here are a few methods for removing hooks.
When a hook's point and barb are protruding out the skin, it's easier to cut off the barb and back the hook out of the wound. This is when those sharp wire cutters come in handy.
The snatch method of hook removal is simple and effective, and it's the best method to remove a hook that's deeply imbedded in the skin and when the barb is buried.
This method is quick, simple and relatively painless, as long as you get it on the first try. The secret to a first time success is yanking the loop of line, which is wrapped around the embedded hook, rather hard so the hook comes out on the first try. The reason you should get it out on the first try is obvious, the patient might not stick around for a second try.
To perform the snatch method when the barb is imbedded, all that's needed is a short length of fishing line, at least 10 pound test, approximately 2 feet long.
Remove hook from lure.
Double the fishing line and loop it around the hook, as close to the skin's surface as possible.
Hold onto both ends of the doubled line, wrapping them around your hand for a firm grip and holding the line parallel to the skin's surface in line with the hook.
With your other hand, press the eye of the hook down onto the surface of the skin and back toward
the hook's bend, as if trying to back the hook out of the wound.
While pressing on the hook eye, yank the line sharply, parallel to the skin and in line with the hook, to snap the hook back out of the wound.
Apply antibiotic ointment, bandage wound and check to make sure tetanus shots are current.
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Do yourself a favor - Take a kid fishing!
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