7960548060?profile=originalMarvin Kaplowitz of Boynton Beach caught this mutton snapper during a mid-December trip on the Sea Mist III.

Kaplowitz used a sardine on a 5/0 circle hook rigged with relatively light 30-pound-test fluorocarbon leader

and 1.5 ounces of weight to catch his snapper.

7960547670?profile=originalDiane Dinin of Lake Park shows two of several vermilion snapper she caught

during an afternoon trip in December aboard the Living on Island Time

drift boat. Standing with her is Capt. Max Parker.

Photos by Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

RELATED STORY: Boynton Inlet Drift Boats

By Willie Howard

    Fishing the ocean off southern Palm Beach County offers anglers the chance to appreciate the beauty of the clear, Gulf Stream water that sweeps along our coastline — and the possibility of bringing home fresh fish for dinner.
    But hiring a boat for a private charter can be expensive.
    For anglers who want to fish the Atlantic without spending hundreds of dollars and making advance reservations can step onto any of three drift boats that reach the ocean through Boynton Inlet.
    The Lady K in Lantana, the Living on Island Time in Hypoluxo and the Sea Mist III in Boynton Beach all offer four-hour ocean trips daily and night trips when enough anglers show up to fish.
    Reservations are not required. Just show up half an hour or so before the boat leaves, buy a ticket and go fishing (assuming the trip is not sold out).
    The cost: about $40 a person (less for children, seniors and in some cases active members of the military) for four hours of ocean fishing. The fare includes fishing tackle, bait and fishing license. Anglers usually tip mates for their assistance.
    Ocean fishing buffs who own boats know that the cost of fishing on a drift boat is less than the price of fuel and bait for most offshore trips.
    The drawback: You might fish shoulder-to-shoulder with a lot of other anglers, especially on fair-weather weekends. The Boynton Inlet head boats are licensed to carry more than 40 passengers.
    Fishing with a group can be fun when anglers start cheering on others as they fight fish. But it can be frustrating when a hooked fish swims all around the boat, wrapping many lines into a large knot.
    Drift boat regulars often fish on weekdays or at night, when the number of anglers tends to be smaller. Most of the Boynton Inlet drift boats will leave the docks if they get eight anglers. Even when they don’t, anglers will sometimes chip in a little extra money to make the trip worthwhile for a drift-boat captain.
    Drift boats are also called head boats because people pay by the head to step aboard and go fishing. When searching for fish in the waters off Palm Beach County, drift boat captains shut down their engines and drift with the wind and the current, hence the name drift boats.
    Anglers fish from one side of the boat — the windward side — so the fishing lines extend out away from the boat instead of going under it.
    The most common drift-boat bait is a dead sardine threaded onto a trio of hooks with varying amounts of weight to get the bait down below the surface. The amount of weight is typically 1 ounce, though it varies with the strength of the current and the fish being targeted.
    Anglers who want to fish the middle of the water column or near the surface for kingfish and dolphin often will use a quarter-ounce or smaller weight, or no weight at all (a flat line).
    When conditions are right, many drift boats also use strips of squid on multiple-hook “guppy rigs” to catch snapper such as the bright red vermilion snapper, a winter favorite.
    Even though it might appear that anglers simply set their rods in rod holders and chew the fat while they wait for a bite, seasoned drift-boat anglers let their lines out and bring them in a lot to keep their baits where they believe the fish are holding.
    Some regulars hold their fingers on the line to feel the bite. Those who pay the most attention to their baits tend to catch the most fish.
    Experts at bottom fishing for snapper often rig their rods with relatively light fluorocarbon leader, which is harder for the fish to see than heavier leaders, and circle hooks.
    Sea Mist III angler Marvin Kaplowitz of Boynton Beach caught a nice mutton snapper during a mid-December trip on the Sea Mist III, partly by using relatively light 30-pound-test fluorocarbon leader and a 5/0 circle hook below a 1.5-ounce weight.
    But in fishing, as in life, there are no guarantees.
    Sometimes the lady from Indiana who has never fished on the ocean catches the largest fish on the boat, which is part of the fun of drift fishing.
                                               ***
    The Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 54 will offer a basic boating safety class Jan. 24 in the boat club building near the boat ramps at Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park in Boynton Beach.
    The class runs from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. The $40 fee includes a boating manual. For details and reservations, call Ron Cuneo at (561) 389-1850.
                                               ***
    Veteran shallow water fishing experts will meet for the Backcountry Tuneup set for Jan. 10 at the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) in Dania Beach.
    The seminar begins with registration at 9 a.m. and will continue until 4 p.m. Speakers include Stu Apte of Florida Keys fame, fly-fishing great Chico Fernandez and fishing television host Flip Pallot.
    Speakers will cover tackle and methods for catching snook, seatrout, redfish and tarpon in shallow waters as well as tips for rigging boats for the back country.
    Tickets are $65. For more information, go to www.igfa.org or call Anthony Vedral at (954) 924-4254.
                                               ***
    Tip of the month: Catch and release sailfish using live bait and circle hooks. North wind and cold weather drive sailfish into area waters. Dangle live baits such as goggle-eyes, greenies or pilchards under fishing kites — or fish them on flat (unweighted) lines. Use non-offset circle hooks such as the Eagle Claw L2004EL in 7/0 or 8/0 sizes to minimize internal damage to sailfish before they’re released. Sailfish also will hit trolled baits such as ballyhoo and bonito belly strips garnished with trolling skirts.
    Release sailfish by cutting the leader as close to the fish as possible. If someone on board can handle the sailfish safely in the water, remove the hook before releasing it. To be legal to keep, a sailfish must measure 63 inches from the tip of the lower jaw to the fork of the tail. A federal HMS (highly migratory species) permit is required to harvest sailfish and other billfish, and all billfish landings must be reported to NOAA within 24 hours.

Willie Howard is a freelance writer and licensed boat captain. Reach him at tiowillie@bellsouth.net.

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