Cape Canaveral Fishing Charters

Cape Canaveral Fishing Charters

Cape Canaveral, Florida may be associated with the space industry and Kennedy Space Center, but you better believe there’s just as much to marvel and wonder at in the waters here as there is in the stars above. Located on Florida’s Space Coast, Cape Canaveral is near the world famous Cocoa Beach and Port Canaveral, one of Florida’s top ports for cruise ships. Those visiting Cape Canaveral will have plenty of opportunities to enjoy the local beaches, restaurants, and shops. And maybe even see a rocket launch from time to time. Anglers in particular enjoy Cape Canaveral. There’s a bit of everything here. The cape is surrounded with water on each side: the Banana River to the west and the fantastic Atlantic Ocean to the right. Anglers will have a big decision to make when it comes to casting their lines - inshore or offshore? Both are readily available. Head north just a bit, and you’ll find yourself in Mosquito Lagoon, a marvelous place untouched by civilization. Or fish the Banana River and see the same offerings of redfish, snook, trout, and tarpon.

Cape Canaveral Inshore Fishing

Inshore fishing in Cape Canaveral is simply superb. Reds, trout, snook, tarpon and inshore snapper are the top targets for most anglers. Flounder, cobia, tarpon and sheepshead are also very common. What you need to catch them with is going to vary with the water conditions. Your guide can tell you what works best. They’re prepared with plenty of jigs, grubs and crankbaits in the top-producing colors for Cape Canaveral. They will also have live and cut bait rigs. Thanks to Florida's restrictions on redfish, your chances of connecting with a big bull are excellent. Watch the shallows, especially over the oyster bars, for tailing redfish. When you see the backs and tails sticking out of the water, it's time to get some gold spoons to cast to the feeding fish. They will also hit jigs, grubs and live bait. If topwater is more your style, snook (rhymes with “hook”) are one of the best for surface fishing. It is more like an explosion than a strike. Trout also hit plugs on the surface.

Cape Canaveral Offshore Fishing

Triggerfish are one of the top catches in the Cape Canaveral area says Fishing Status. Your chance of putting some in the boat is the same as catching trout and reds inshore and sailfish, wahoo and dolphin offshore. In other words, the fishing here is excellent. Triggerfish like deeper water and reefs, Their small mouths mean you need smaller rigs. The same hooks used to yank grouper off the bottom are simply too big. Triggerfish have hard and sharp teeth which they use to munch corals and crustaceans attached to the bottom structure, so barnacles make good bait. Triggerfish in Florida are subject to seasonal regulations. Check the Fish and Wildlife Commission's regulations page for the latest info. While you are out there looking for some triggerfish fillets for the fish cooker, you can also expect to catch a fish locals call grunts. They have a red to pink mouth which gives them their other name, pink mouth grunt. When brought on board, these fish make a grunting noise by grinding plates in the back of their mouth. They are pretty good eating too. The best part is they are really common. Once you find one, you can settle in for a good time hauling them over the side. Grunts hit bait chaser rigs so you can catch more than one fish with one cast. The best news is the grunt is an "unregulated" fish and you can take home up to 100 pounds of fish per person. That is a lot of fillets! The reefs around Cape Canaveral are also packed with the more traditional reef fish like grouper, snapper, barracuda and amberjack. Those grunts also make great bait. Just put one on a bigger hook and drop it back down. Some Cape Canaveral Fishing Charters will also cut the tail on a grunt to create a blood trail. Barracuda can't resist that.

Cape Canaveral Goliath Grouper

The real question when you come to fish Cape Canaveral is how tough are you? Think you can get a 500-pound monster to the side of the boat? The Goliath grouper was once fished to near extinction. While it has come back, it is not yet a fish you can keep. Florida's regs are strictly catch-and-release for this giant grouper. Your guide will be sure to get plenty of pictures and video of the fish so you can impress your friends when you get home.

Book A Cape Canaveral Fishing Charter

Fishing in Cape Canaveral is available year-round. The weather is almost always nice and the people are incredibly friendly. Let the adventure begin today, book your next Cape Canaveral fishing charter here.