Brevard Surf Fishing Forecast- May 2012

May's the time of year when large gamefish move inshore to feed.

May is typically the calmest month of the year on Florida’s Space Coast. It is the perfect time in the perfect place to hold the first Space Coast International Surf Fishing Tournament! Many species including delicious whiting, pompano, sheepshead, bluefish, redfish, mackerel, flounder and snook can be caught from Brevard’s surf during May.

When the weather is settled, large schools of both silver mullet and menhaden have been hanging out within casting or paddling distance from our beaches, and soon, hordes of Spanish Anchovy, aka glass minnows, will be joining them.  These are the ingredients that annually attract the late spring migration of topical gamefish to our coastal waters. This means more Spanish and king mackerel, tarpon, and sharks will be moving into the surf in the coming  weeks. It the past two weeks there has been an increase in the number of large smoker kingfish, two over fifty pounds, caught within paddle distance of Cocoa Beach. Snook follow the same schools of menhaden as kingfish.

Best Days to Fish: May 7-16 and May 22-28.

Look for snook, tarpon and shark feeding activity to increase on early outgoing tides, however, a cloudy, day with offshore winds may stimulate the more nocturnal species to feed right during afternoon outgoing tides. With the right conditions and low light the surf fishing can be productive throughout the entire day come late May. However, generally speaking it will be to avoid the heat of the day and focus your greatest angling effort early and late.

Fish Space Coast International Surf Fishing Tournament and help raise money for the Anglers for Conservation’s Hook Kids on Fishing programs.