Homosassa offers some very good offshore fishing, however, it’s a far boat ride to get out of the river and out to the better fishing spots in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s not just a far boat ride out from the river, it drops off very slowly in this part of Florida. You can go miles offshore and be fishing 10 to 12 feet of water, which is totally different that other parts of Florida. While certain species of fish will be found in deeper water, there are plenty of fish that are found in the shallower water offshore here. The target species will vary depending on the seasons, but this area will provide plenty of action year-round.
Fishing for Pelagic Fish
What are Pelagic Fish?
Pelagic fish get their name from the area that they inhabit called the pelagic zone. The pelagic zone is the largest habitat on earth with a volume of 330 million cubic miles. Different species of pelagic fish are found throughout this zone. Numbers and distributions vary regionally and vertically, depending on availability of light, nutrients, dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, and pressure.
Some of the Pelagic fish that are found farther offshore here are king mackerel, wahoo, mahi mahi, tuna and sailfish. You might need to go 100 miles out though to get to the deeper water where these fish are found.
Bottom Fishing
Reefs & Wrecks
In this part of Florida, the reefs and wrecks are what most of the offshore anglers will be fishing. It is pretty shallow in this part of Florida, so you still may be going out for a long boat ride to find some deeper water and some of the better bottom fishing spots, but there are plenty of good offshore spots if you want to go further offshore to fish them.
Some of the types of fish you may be targeting on the reefs and wrecks are snapper, grouper, king mackerel, amberjack, cobia, sharks, hogfish, jack crevalle, sheepshead, barracuda and more.
Artificial Reef Locations
Visit the reef locations on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website.
