Bussen Report – June | The Beachside Resident

By: Capt. Scott Bussen

Article Category: Canaveral Fishing Report Leave a Comment

As a full-time fisherman, I spend countless hours on the ocean. Although much of the time spent offshore is fishing, there are still those idle times to sit and think. Now, I’ve never claimed to be a genius. I’m not talking about solving the Theory of Relativity here, but merely pondering the everyday trials and tribulations of daily life. Who the hell am I kidding? I’m not that deep. If I were a swimming pool, I’d be sky blue and fit on top of a minivan. No, my time is more suited to thinking about twisted, goofed-up things that might make me laugh out loud (and not “lol”). The other day, I was cruising along the ocean swells, day-dreaming how I might solve my newest personal crisis, when it came to me. Or should I say that my brain said to my heart, “Hey, let’s cut the serious crap. It’s giving me a headache. Let’s make it a funny!” WHY ARE WOMEN AND FISH SO SIMILAR? Now, don’t hate me. I don’t claim to be an expert on either. These are just personal observations. In no particular order, here we go:

Y)    Both have the ability to make your day the best day ever.
J)     We devote a lot of time and disposable income in pursuit of both.
6)    Sometimes, one gets on the line that’s too much to handle.
@)   Both have the ability to outwit on any given day.
X)    We love to chase the ones that run away.
#)    The harder you hold on, the easier they slip out of your hands.
8)    One day you think you’ve got ‘em figured out, the next day everything’s changed.
K)    Both have a unique ability to cause frustration.
2)    The chase is 75% of the fun.
S)    You never forget the one that got away.
F)    They will cause you to do foolish things.
B)    They are some of the most beautiful things on the planet!

Speaking of beautiful things, how about that dolphin run? I can’t say that it’s been the best, but it has been fairly consistent. There haven’t been the number of really big fish we saw last year, but there have been good numbers of “gaffers” caught throughout May. The biggest problem last month was the lack of structure to fish on. The current edges were non-defined, the weedlines were blown apart and this caused the fish to be randomly scattered all over the ocean. Fishermen had to cover a lot of ground to find the fins. There were, however, a few wahoo, sails and tuna to add to the action.

Being a bit on what they call the “husky” side and suffering from acute acrophobia, I don’t do this very often, but I’m going to go out on a limb. Dammit, this fall’s going to hurt…but I think the dolphin run will continue into June this year. It’s been a funny year so far, so keep your fingers crossed; maybe the patterns will change for the better. As soon as some decent weedlines and/or edges form, things could turn white hot. Mixed in with the dolphin, we should still see the occasional sail, tuna and wahoo. Ballyhoo and ballyhoo/lure combos will still be the bait of choice, but if the sargassum gets too bad, try a strip bait for the weedless approach.

As far as bottom fishing in May is concerned, cold is the only word to explain it. Although there were some good catches, the cold thermocline of the Labrador Current moved in and effectively shut down most of the bottom dwellers. If Mother Nature sees fit to remove this bottom barricade, things should return to relative normality.

With the summer here, it’s time to fish a little deeper. Fish as deep as you can with respect to the current. Provided the cold water leaves, expect to see good numbers of amberjack, decent numbers of red snapper and a grouper here and there. If you can locate live sardines, scads, boston mackerel and/or cigar minnows, load the livewell and go hard at it. In lieu of those, pinfish grunts and beeliners combined with some frozen sardines will have to do the trick. Verticle jigs and deep jigs may also be worth a shot.

The live baiting on the reef last month was very hit or miss. However, kings, cobia and dolphin made fairly regular visits to the fishbox. In June, expect the kings to be a bit more consistent when they settle down from their spring spawn in West Palm. A stray cobia and/or dolphin may be mixed in with the kings, but don’t be surprised if you get jumped by a sail or big wahoo. Live pogies and sardines will rule the bait roost, but don’t be afraid to pull the spinnin’ minnows in their absence.

To quote George Gershwin: “Summertime… and the livin’ is easy!”

Get out and take Dad fishin’.

See ya on the pond!