Bar Jacks Fishing Report – May 4 | Tuna, Mahi & Grouper Season Opens

Bar Jacks Fishing Report – May 4

Spring Bite Still Rolling + Grouper & Tilefish Season Opens in South Florida

Hello and welcome back to another Bar Jacks Fishing Report for May 4. The weather was okay this week, not great but despite that, the fishing is still on fire. Even better, grouper and tilefish season has officially opened, adding a whole new mix to the offshore bite.

Sailfish

The sailfish bite has been average lately. They are definitely not a main target this time of year, but there's always a chance of one showing up in your spread while live baiting. Most fish are in 70–300 feet of water. Kite fishing with goggle eyes and threadfin herring remains the best way to target them, but right now they're more of a bonus bite than a main focus.

Tuna

The tuna bite is still on fire and the best part is the big blackfins are finally starting to show up. There have been a good number of 20+ pound fish caught this week, while the football sized tuna are still running strong. You can definitely catch them trolling, but if you want the bigger blackfins, you'll need to stop the boat, fish live baits, or get a kite in the air. The best times have been early morning and late afternoon. Most success for us has come from trolling the Bar Jacks Tuna Striker around the cargo ships off Fort Lauderdale, anywhere from 100–400 feet of water.

Mahi

The mahi bite has been insane. We were just out last weekend and found multiple schools of mahi — it's great to see this many fish showing up this early in the season. Big seaweed lines have been sitting in 700–1,000 feet of water, and if you pull up on the right patch, your boat can get surrounded by mahi fast. There are a lot of fish around right now, and if you want to see exactly how we target them, we just dropped a new video breaking it all down.

Kingfish

There are still some nice kingfish around. The numbers aren't quite where we want them yet, but the bite is starting to heat up. Best approach is drifting live baits around wrecks in about 90 feet of water. Run a few goggle eyes on wire and you'll give yourself a solid shot. The preferred depth range has been 70–170 feet.

Bottom Fishing (Grouper & Tilefish — Now OPEN)

Grouper and tilefish season has officially opened, and fish are already being caught through the week. This weekend wasn't ideal for deep dropping due to dark, gloomy conditions. In general, deep dropping is much better on bright, clear blue sky days — that's when you'll get your best shot at snowy grouper and tilefish. We'll also be dropping a video soon on exactly how we deep drop and target these fish. Overall, the spring run is still in full swing, tuna and mahi are leading the charge, and now grouper and tilefish season adds another great option offshore.

We hope you enjoyed the May 4 Bar Jacks Fishing Report. DM us @barjacksgear on Instagram to be featured in the next report!

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