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This week has been good. We are still fishing and the dolphin are still biting. The fishing has been pretty consistent the last week or so. There have been a decent amount of bites and fish from 400 ft of water out to the “Wall”. Most of the fish have been under the patches of Sargasso weed or under “working” birds.

As fishermen, we always watch the birds. They are a sign of feeding fish. If you see birds and they are just flying along in one direction, they are not on fish. But if you see birds going back and forth. coming down to the water and back up again, that is what we call “working”. It means they are following fish and coming down to feed on whatever bait the fish are chasing to the surface.

Sometimes you can have a pretty good idea as to what kind of fish the birds are feeding on just by the way they are moving and the number of birds there are. Usually large flocks, especially if they are moving fast mean tuna. Either Black Fin or Skip Jack Tuna. Birds in smaller numbers that are moving east or west more slowly, usually mean dolphin.

Birds can also be a great way to find debris. If you see a bird that is just staying in one general area, keep your eyes open, there may be something floating there and that can hold fish. Today, we found 2 pieces of debris floating. Birds brought us to both and both had fish on them. Once you find a piece of debris, it can be hard to get back to it after hooking fish. I usually try to mark the spot with the “man overboard” button on my Chartplotter. Even then, sometimes it takes some searching to get back to the debris and the fish.

We had a father – Son trip today. I always like these trips. It’s great to see a father taking the time to do something fun and healthy with their son. Besides, I always like having young fishermen on board the Southbound. I consider them “future customers”.

By the end of the day, we ended up with about 15 “keeper” dolphin today. We threw back about another 7-8 small ones and a bunch of Almaco Jacks and big Blue Runners. A fine day was had by all. We will be fishing again tomorrow and hope to see the dolphin still biting.