Frank: I have a 16-year-old grandson coming to visit from Cincinnati on April 9 and he wants a true deep sea fishing experience pulling trolled baits for wahoo, dolphin, tuna, billfish, etc. We have a 33 Egg Harbor which I could easily move to the East Coast via Big Like O.  Would our chances of success be better here on the west coast of Florida around that time or would we maybe have better success on the east coast of Florida around Stuart? The hump off Marathon could also be an option. Your advice would be most appreciated. Thanks and Tight Lines. Capt. Bob, Robert A. Morrissey

A: Unless you’re planning on going to the edge of the shelf, about 100 miles out, the east coast is far better for bluewater fish than the west coast. The humps in the keys are likely to have blackfins around then - catch up some whitebait inshore and chum them to the top. Or, trolling there or off Stuart would probably produce something, though, as you know, it can be a long time between bites on blue water fish. There should be some kings left around then - might try drifting with livebaits in the green water inshore around Stuart. Best bet of all, I’d think, would be to hire a local skipper where ever you go and have him run your boat for a day - he’ll know what’s biting and show you the best rigs and where to fish.

Also, that’s not to say that you might not luck into sails or dolphin closer to shore on the West Coast - the last few years, April through June, there have been both in closer, but it’s very sporadic and you would have to be pretty lucky to hit the right spot at the right time. Tight lines, FS