February 2017 Port Canaveral Florida Fishing Report

January ended up working out really well for the most part, despite the relentless wind and missed marine forecast predictions. Fishing was tough a few days immediately following fronts that brought rough seas, but more often than not the fish were ready to cooperate. Near shore the bull reds and sharks did slow down but to my surprise the reds and especially the sharks did cooperate really well and even seemed to pick up toward the end of the month. We saw a lot of good action in the surf with the tide changes. Black drum, whiting, and pompano were the main players. Offshore we continued to have phenomenal king fishing along with all the species that mix in such as sail fish, black fin tuna, and big sharks.

February is shaping up to be about the exact same report for near shore as January. The big reds and sharks will slow down but it may just surprise us just like last month. The surf, port and jetties should have great action from sheepshead, black drum, pompano, and whiting. February is my favorite month to have a good chance at catching my absolute favorite shark. The big gnarly sand tiger sharks will be lurking up and down the surf line. Triple tail will also continue to be around. They have aggravated me to no end this year so far, so be ready to test your patience especially when you see some decent size ones.

The fate of offshore fishing in February will be determined by cold fronts. If the seas conditions stay calm for any length of time, we are going to have some epic fishing for really big king mackerel. The big smoker kings are here in numbers this time of year but they demand one thing or they will not cooperate. They demand a few consecutive days of flat calm seas and that is a tall order for February. A lot of good things will be in the mix with the kings such as black fin tuna, wahoo, and sail fish. The sharks will be in full force among the schools of kings and the cobias will be with the sharks. We also have a good chance of finding cobia under manta rays where the cleaner offshore water mixes with the dirty beach water typically around 60 ft depth. It will be hard and probably foolish to go past all the opportunity inside of a 100ft. For those willing to roll the dice I am sure you can have some fun trolling at whatever depth the water turns blue and pick up a few mahi and the occasional sail fish or wahoo. Bottom fishing is fantastic in February! It is downright fun knowing every time you lower a bait it is going to get crushed. Bottom fishing is purely for the fun of it because everything is closed off except trigger fish, porgy’s and sea bass.

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.