We’ve got plenty," said John Swigert, as he dumped another net load of fat pogies into the livewell. "Let’s go."

Those words were music to my ears. I’m always eager for a shot at dolphin, especially on the famed Pelican Flats off Port Canaveral.

I’d jumped on Capt. Swigert’s invitation to fish the spring dolphin run out of Port Canaveral. He was confident that we could catch several by slow-trolling live pogies, a.k.a. menhaden. Joining us would be his 7-year-old son, Kyle, Karen Wescott and Clive French.

For most Floridians, a typical dolphin trip involves trolling around sargassum weedlines, rips, the edges of color changes and that "magic pallet." Instead, today’s drill would involve slow-trolling over Pelican Flats, where the bottom rises to 70 to 90 feet, surrounded by depths of 250 feet and more. That would be considered "flats," I suppose, to any avid offshore angler. Baitfish swarm over the Flats and assorted predators patrol the edges. King mackerel are dependable here year-round, joined by sailfish during the fall, and wahoo in winter. But from late spring to early summer, one can lose sleep thinking about what awaits. In essence, the region’s a revolving door. You’ve got the ever-present kingfish, some late-departing wahoo and early-arriving sailfish, and a host of other predators come to feast on a rich stew of baitfish. Cobia, bonito and blackfin tuna chime in, as do dolphin, the object of our attention on this day. Slow-trolling with live bait greatly increases your chances. As John says, everything will eat a live pogy.

During our 30-minute, 25-mile run to the Flats, I took a close look at how the tackle had been rigged. Light, graphite-body lever-drag trolling reels were spooled with 25-pound-test monofilament and mounted on light-action...spinning rods. Huh? I wondered. I asked my host about this unconventional setup, and he said he prefers flexible spinning rods to stout trolling rods, and goes with a light drag setting. I asked him about his tackle and drag setting, and like most captains who stray outside the box, his reasoning was sound.

Most anglers troll for dolphin with ballyhoo or a strip bait, and rig them either naked or behind a plastic skirt with a 3/0 or larger hook. Pogies, however, are a smaller bait calling for specialized rigging. Two 4X strong treble hooks are attached to five feet of 30-pound fluorocarbon leader. A small plastic King Buster skirt is placed in front of the main hook to add a splash of color. About four inches of No. 4 wire leads to the second treble. A live pogy is hooked to each hook, through the upper lip only. Although I was expecting terminal rigging more suited for dolphin than kingfish, John explained that pogies cannot be trolled at high speeds.

"Because pogies are relatively small we have to use a smaller hook," he said. "A stout trolling rod and more typical trolling speed would only rip the hook out of a striking fish’s mouth."

John cut the engines and leveled off the boat to a trolling speed of about two miles per hour, and a flurry of activity began. Karen grabbed a dipnet and scooped several baits from the well, tossed a couple of livies into the water and stunned a couple more by bouncing them off the transom. Clive put two of the pogies on a flatline and set them out about 50 feet behind the boat. Meanwhile, John readied a downrigger so that some of the baits could be deployed deeper in the water. After putting a pair of pogies on one of the rigs, he sent it down to 30 feet and set the second downrigger to 15 feet for awhile, and to 45 feet later in the day, although he was quick to say that the 30-foot ’rigger was the one that usually received the most action on the Flats.

While John and Clive put baits out on the second flatline and the second downrigger, the first flatline got hit, and young Kyle jumped to attention. Clive took the rod out of its holder and handed it to Kyle. John opened a cooler and took out a fighting belt for Kyle’s waist, offered a reminder to keep the rodtip up and off the gunnels, and let Kyle go to work. The young angler fought his fish expertly and quickly brought a small dolphin alongside the boat.

The process of setting out lines began anew and this time we were able to get both flatlines and both downriggers baited and into the water before the next strike. John maintained the desired slow-trolling speed by running only one outboard motor at a time, alternating them every hour or so. We had reasonably steady action throughout the morning at the dropoff just beyond the edge of the flats.

Whenever the bite slowed Karen would "seed" the area with a half-dozen stunned pogies and the bite would soon be on again. Catching pogies and keeping them alive is perhaps more important when slow-trolling than when using other trolling techniques. Fortunately, pogies are readily available to anglers who can throw a cast net reasonably well. Netting 150 to 200 baits is ample for a day’s fishing. And don’t be shy about tossing a few overboard from time to time. It pays big dividends.

We decided to return to the marina at Canaveral shortly after noon, having boxed five dolphin to 20 pounds and five kings to 15 pounds. In addition, we caught and released a number of bonito and barracuda. All in all, a good trip and on the economical side too, considering we didn’t have to buy expensive rigged or live baits, or run all over the ocean to blindly look for fish. And, slow-trolling on one outboard doesn’t burn much gas. I don’t know any angler who chooses bluewater fishing to save money, but when a technique works as well as slow-trolling and saves bucks, too, it is certainly worth considering.

Lastly, if you don’t care to make 25-mile or longer runs to offshore regions such as Pelican Flats, look over your offshore fishing chart. Numerous ledges, reefs and wrecks hold vast numbers of baitfish and gamefish, and are ideal places for slow-trolling.

Stock the Well

Pods of menhaden (pogies) are numerous just off the Florida Atlantic beaches in spring, mostly from Fort Pierce north, and are not hard to spot. The drill involves running along the beach with an eye peeled for dive-bombing pelicans, and of course, fellow anglers tossing the net. The morning we were out, the sun was bright and we could easily see the baits flashing in the morning light.

Karen bumped the throttle of one engine to move the boat forward toward a large pod of baitfish in precariously shallow water just off the surf, and John gathered all the baits we needed with just a few throws of the net. Veterans prefer a fast-sinking, 5/8-inch mesh, 10- to 12-foot castnet for menhaden, though an 8-footer is easier to toss. Break out the 3/8-inch mesh net if baits are small. You do not want to gill the small baits—they will not survive, and you’ll spend precious time picking them from your net. A round livewell is best for menhaden, though an oval well will suffice. Pogies tend to swim into corners of rectangular or square wells, and that trauma, called "red nose," can make them less hardy on the hook. To keep baits in optimum shape, a high-capacity re-circulating pump is recommended. —L.K.