Pine Creek

Tackle & technique

Mahi-mahi

Mahi feed near the surface along weedlines, floating debris, buoys and current edges offshore, in water from the low 70s to the low 80s. Troll ballyhoo or small skirted lures along the weed, and when a school comes up behind the boat keep one hooked fish in the water while you pitch cut bait or jigs to the rest. Look for birds working over weed and flotsam.

Atlantic croaker

Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.

Summer flounder

Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.