April 2024 Port Canaveral Florida Fishing Report

April will get us closer to easy fishing but it’s not all sunshine & rainbows yet. This is a big month that sets the tone for the best deep sea fishing month of all for the Port Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, Space Coast area.

Nearshore will be about the same as last month. Lite tackle for species such as sheepshead, flounder, snook, whiting, and pompano along the beach and jetties. Break out the big guns for shark fishing. It will be awesome because this is when the big black tip sharks and lemon sharks show up in force. Those 2 species are the most fun fights out of all the shark species we catch.

Nearshore will be tend to completely shut down days following a big swell and rough seas. This time of year when this happens it does recover pretty quickly only taking a day or 2 at most of calm conditions.

Deep Sea they have closed off a lot of species for April this year. Groupers are always closed until May but having tilefish and amberjack closed also really hurts. The reason having all these deep water bottom species closed off really hurts is because we do a lot of looking for mahi in April. If we can’t find an edge holding the mahi it is definitely nice to have something to fall back on like amberjacks or groupers.

Mahi & Tuna is what really gets everyone going in May. Days immediately following a stretch of rough sea conditions are going to be your best bet for mahi. This is hard to time for most people but if you are lucky to live life with a pretty flexible schedule then do a full day the first calm day after a very rough forecast. This will usually lead you to mahi blue and gold.

East side of the stream for tuna will be pretty steady. You might not always find quantity but this is the time of the year we catch some of our larger yellowfins 50 to 90lbs. This is also where the mahi will be if they don’t have any reason to get pushed to the West side of the stream.

100ft. We often have a running joke in the Sea Leveler fleet. If you go past 100 you lose. This is because when it’s right that is where the easiest days of the year are made. King fish, cobia, sailfish, plus the occasional bonus mahi and then you can always round out a day with some lane snapper or trigger fish. More skilled anglers will have some luck with mangrove and mutton snapper. For those that just the tug is the drug you can always find big sharks and goliath groupers to test your muscle against.

We look forward to a great April but May June & July are the true treasure months on the Treasure Coast.

Captain Greg has been fishing the waters of Port Canaveral and the Atlantic for over 30 years. He has the largest and most highly rated private charter business in Port Canaveral, Sea Leveler Sport Fishing Charters. Greg and his team of full time captains fish well over 200 days each per year. We have kept detailed catch history for every trip ran since 2010. You can access this history at www.sealeveler.com/reports.  His engineer wife, Amber, has analyzed the catch history along with other historical data such as water temperature and weather patterns. Greg uses his fishing experience and knowledge along with his wife’s statistical analysis to bring you the best fishing report available for Port Canaveral. Greg will give you the honest truth on how the fishing has been along with his best prediction of what to expect by using all of this information.