Port Canaveral, Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, and Orlando

It might be the hottest time of the year but it is time to think cold.

Thermocline fishing is upon us, so we have to fish based on the way fish react to it. Thermocline is when the water at the bottom gets really cold. This causes everything from bait fish, to bottom fish, to sharks & rays and even pelagic species to react differently. In a nut shell you will find most species moving to shallow water or higher up in the water column.

First thing we should notice is the bait fish. The ocean becomes alive with action along the beach and around shoals. The bait pushes to the surface to get warm. All this life will be overwhelming and by all means fun days can be put together by live bait trolling, live bait drifting or casting lures at every bait pod you see. Along the beach will be spanish mackerel, tarpon, jack crevalle & sharks. Just a little further out we will find bonito, king mackerel, cobia, sailfish, barracuda, and the occasional wahoo or mahi. Big structure in 100ft or less will have amber jacks & mangrove snappers to the surface. The amber jacks are easy to get to bite but the mangroves take a lot more finesse.

August thermocline fishing is awesome but at the same time absolutely maddening. Awesome because you get to see a lot of fish and life moving around. On the right days king mackerel and amber jacks will be eating out of your hand, jumbo mangrove snappers will be feeding on the surface and cobia will be shadowing rays and sharks in shallow water but maddening because the ocean gets really small when everyone is honing in on the same know structures and areas.

No real reason to go outside of 100ft this month unless you want to do some deep drop fishing for golden tile. The thermocline doesn’t seem to affect the golden tile fish but truth be told we have done very little deep drop fishing in August over the years so I really don’t know. This is a great month for sword fishing and everyone seems to forget about yellowfin tuna but they are definitely still out there, just might have to go further.

We look forward to one more great month of weather and fishing before hitting the challenges that September sometimes can bring.

The Suzuki Repower Fishing Report is sponsored by Mastry Suzuki Repower

Captain Greg Rapp
Sealeveler Sport Fishing Charters
Phone: (321) 794-3474
Capt. Greg on the web: https://www.sealeveler.com/
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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.