Captain Greg's Fishing Report for July 2018
Port Canaveral, Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, and Orlando
Last Month's Action
This is going to sound soft but as I think about June a small tear of joy rolls down my face. If ever did we need a epic summer kick off, 2018 was when we needed it. June was awesome! Everything was great for most of the month. Live bait trolling was epic! Bottom fishing was epic! Sight fishing was epic! Shark fishing was epic! Trolling not so epic but it was flat calm every day so it counts as epic!
July Near Shore Fishing Forecast
Near shore fishing right now is literally something worth seeing. It may not be as good as it gets but it is pretty darn close. The water is so clear that you can see absolutely everything. It honesty is worth just riding around and looking into the water to see what you can find. In the last couple days I have watched goliath grouper, lemon sharks, hammer head sharks, sawfish, nurse sharks, cobia, king fish, jack crevalle, tarpon, snook, triple tail, barracuda and giant bottom rays swim along the shallows in 8 to 30 ft of water. I even found a small part of a wreck that I never knew existed. Water is gin clear and it is a very neat time to sight fish for everything. Bait pods are everywhere so you really have a endless amount of options. Sight fish bait pods, shore line, shoals, buoys, shallow wrecks and weed patches. Use sabiki rigs to match the hatch. Cast netting pogies is always nice but may not always be the most effective or even available. The cool bottom water and flat calm seas have the pogies pushed into less than a foot of water so it can be challenging some days to get pogys but the threadfins and scaly minnows have been thick. You may need to downsize your gear for some of the more weary species such as king mackerel, tarpon and barracuda.
July Offshore Fishing Forecast
Live bait trolling like usual will be the go to style of fishing for the most productive day. Don’t be afraid to downsize everything with this clear water and be sure to match the hatch. This has been very important over the past week. Inferior baits such as threadfins have been way out performing pogies because the fish are tuned into those huge schools of threadfins right now. Kings & cobias will be found everywhere inside of 100ft. The bigger the profile the better! If its natural bottom fish big natural bottom. If it’s a wreck fish the biggest wrecks or part of the wreck. If it’s a shoal fish the shallowest part. If its bait pods then fish the dense ones. Everything with a presence will be holding fish right now. Summertime mangrove fishing is getting good. Yes you have to weed through a lot of red snapper and small jacks but the mangroves are quality. Water on the bottom is cold but not too cold so we just may continue to have a decent grouper and amberjack bite. Look out for cobias on mud rays in the shallows or following sharks on main natural structure such as lively parts of Pelican, 8A and Chris Benson Reefs. I don’t think the mahi will be all that hot but with all these flat calm days we are seeing some giant weed patches forming and just today I saw several free jumping sail fish on the edge of the current. I thing for those willing to put in the time you may just get pleasantly surprised by a few mahi, sailfish and the occasional wahoo. The ocean is flat calm. The water is crystal clear so grab your family and friends and go enjoy the water right now before it changes.
About Captain Greg's Reports and Forecast
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.