Port Canaveral lures deep-sea fishing fans
Photos and text by Kathy Hagood

Deep-sea fishing on the rolling blue Atlantic is a fresh-aired pleasure easily available to Space Coast residents year-round thanks to Port Canaveral.

Numerous charters at the port offer their services for the occasional fisherman. For boat owners there are boat launches, numerous marinas and passage via a lock system from the Indian River Lagoon.

May is known to bring out dolphin, a fish also known as mahi mahi, for trolling up to about 30 miles out from the port. Tuna can be found at 60 miles out on the west side of the Gulf Stream.

Bottom fishers seeking grouper, mangrove snapper, king mackerel and cobia will find catch at 80 to 140 feet as long as there’s not a temperature inversion in the deep waters off shore, says John Davenport, a marine salesman at Scorpion’s Newport Marina at the port. Davenport, a yacht master, has been an avid fisherman since he was four years old.

“Sometimes during the warmer months the water is so cold at the bottom that the fish are pretty much comatose and sea goes dead for a week or two,” Davenport says.

Charters and offshore trips with knowledgeable boat-owning friends offer the best introduction to deep-sea fishing for the newbie.

The least expensive course is taking a large “party boat” to bottom fish the reefs and wrecks off shore and sight fish schools of mahi mahi near the surface. Such boats take dozens of passengers for half-day and daylong adventures. For about $75 per day adults get a hassle-free experience complete with breakfast, lunch, soft drinks and a heavy-duty rod and reel. The all-inclusive price for children older than six is $60.

Party boats are good deals both for the avid fisherman and families who want to introduce their children to deep-sea fishing. Susan and Dennis Demuth took their 13-year-old triplets Leah, Branden and Anthony on an all-day adventure aboard the 65-foot Ocean Obsession II during spring break.

“We decided to take advantage of our own area’s offering vs. go on a vacation somewhere else. We’ll definitely go deep-sea fishing again,” Susan Demuth says.

While the experienced fisherman are willing to pay $5 more to reserve a seat at the back of the boat, it’s also very possible to catch fish off the front or side of the boat, said says Captain Dan Filakosky with Obsession Charters at the port.

“People get disappointed if they don’t catch anything but you don’t get lucky every time. It does take practice to differentiate when the baitfish are nibbling and when a big fish is biting,” Filakosky says.

He recommends serious fishermen bring along a small spinning rod with a sabiki rig, available at any bait and tackle store, to catch their own live bait. Obsession sometimes is able to gather live bait with a cast net and distribute it to guests. Regular dead bait, squid and sardines, is always available.

When you feel a tug on your line it’s best to “crank not yank,” as Obsession crew member Mike Lancaster recommends.

Deep-sea fishing neophytes and those with somewhat weak stomachs should take care to take their seasickness prevention medicine before the trip, especially when the seas kick up. Heavy breakfast foods are to be avoided. Lancaster recommends bringing a little cantaloupe for a morning snack.

A somewhat more expensive option for learning the ropes of deep-sea fishing is to go out with an experienced captain on a private charter for between four and six people. Such charters, which average about $750, can be tailored to your fishing interest. If you want to go for the Earnest Hemingway experience craving to bring in a leaping, thrashing tuna on “the other side” of the Gulf Stream you’ll pay more.

One of the great things about private charters is that they give you the opportunity to try out various types of boats and styles of fishing so you can determine your favorites. You may even become so hooked you’ll want to buy your own boat.

Boats options for offshore fishing are ever expanding. Multi-hull vessels are all the rage these days, according to Davenport.

“They slice through the water vs. pounding across it. Plus you don’t have to have as big of a motor to get where you want to go,” he says.

Scorpion’s sells Glacier Bay multi-hulls and Regulator mono-hulls. Fishing boats of 17 to 19 feet can be used for deep-sea fishing during the warmer months when the water is flat, but 21 to 23 feet is recommended for rougher water. A 26-foot boat can take on a journey to the other side of the Gulf Stream.

“The bigger the boat and the more accessories like a tower and radar, the larger the price tag. Deep-sea fishing on a regular basis is an expensive hobby,” Davenport says.

But no matter what your budget, the azure excitement of deep-sea fishing shouldn’t be missed.