Offshore Fishing
Fishing Offshore with Captain John
Floating Time Charters offers offshore deep sea fishing trips in the beautiful blue waters of the Atlantic! Everything you need to fish is included!
Offshore Fishing Rates
Offshore/Deep Sea Fishing Trips
4 hours $500
Price is for 2 people
$50 for each additional person
Maximum 6 people
6 & 8 Hour Offshore Trips are available.
Please call for rates.
Everything You Need to Fish is
Included on all Fishing Charters
Fishing licenses, tackle, bait, ice, fish cleaning, etc.
A gratuity of 15 – 20% is customary on fishing charters and is very much appreciated!
Captain John’s offshore boat is rigged for bottom reef fishing and trolling! See The Boat
World Class Offshore Fishing
Daytona Beach is world famous for its beautiful beaches, auto racing and even motorcycle festivals. However, these activities overshadow the world class offshore fishing that begins just beyond the beaches. The best part about Daytona Beach fishing is that our offshore fishing trips as well as our inshore fishing trips begin just minutes from downtown Daytona Beach. See Boat Launch Locations
The Famous Ponce Inlet
Ponce Inlet, at the mouth of Daytona Beach’s Halifax River, is our gateway to the Atlantic Ocean and fabulous offshore fishing. Ponce Inlet is famous among fishing enthusiasts as a great place to fish for a wide variety of species including trophy monster Redfish. Our Ponce Inlet boat ramp, in the town of Ponce Inlet, is just 10 miles from Daytona Beach and less than one half mile from the inlet and the open waters of the Atlantic.
Ponce Inlet is also home to Florida’s tallest lighthouse, the second tallest in the country.
Bottom Reef Fishing
Florida has the world’s largest system of offshore artificial reefs with artificial reefs in nearly every coastal county. Volusia County, which encompasses Daytona Beach, Ponce Inlet and New Smyrna Beach, has one of the largest artificial reef systems in Florida.
There are now 15 artificial reef sites off the coast of Volusia County. The reefs consist of everything from sunken ships and barges to discarded concrete structures and debris such as concrete culverts, pilings and bridge panels. There is even concrete and structural debris from building demolitions and a sunken World War II Liberty ship, the USS Mindanao.
New habitat for countless marine species. Since the first artificial reefs were created off the shores of Daytona Beach in the early 1980s, the artificial reefs have become thriving habitats for hundreds of species of fish and invertebrates, including the fish species we love to target on our offshore fishing charters. Clearly, the artificial reef program is providing relief for the natural reefs located farther offshore. Daytona Beach area recreational fishermen and fishing charter captains now have many more options for offshore reef fishing and much nearer to shore. All 15 artificial reefs near Daytona Beach are located from less than 1 mile to 33 miles off the shoreline. The reefs are located at depths of 30 feet to 135 feet.
The Oculina coral reefs. Further out and reachable only on extended fishing charters, there are natural reefs located about 25 miles offshore of Daytona Beach in 200 to 300 feet of water. These are known as the Oculina coral reefs. Oculina is a type of deep water coral only found in the United States off the Atlantic coast of central Florida. These natural reefs are home to a large variety of reef dwelling fish and are excellent locations for great offshore fishing. However, their considerable distance offshore, and the fishing pressure put on the reefs by increasing numbers of recreational fishermen and fishing charters, have made the artificial reefs a welcome addition to Daytona Beach’s offshore fishing options.
The artificial reefs of Volusia County and the Daytona Beach area are monitored by the all-volunteer Volusia County Reef Research Dive Team. The team members are experienced divers who use their own boats and charters to monitor conditions of both the artificial and natural reefs.
The Fish of the Artificial Reefs
Bottom fishing the artificial reefs near Daytona Beach offers a huge variety of species that everyone loves to catch. The species most associated with bottom fishing off Daytona Beach are the snappers and groupers. Bottom fishing the artificial reefs offers a wide variety of both snappers and groupers.
Snapper species found when fishing around the artificial reefs include: Yellowtail Snapper, Lane Snapper, Mangrove (Gray) Snapper, Vermillion Snapper and Red Snapper.
Grouper species found when fishing around the artificial reefs include: Scamp Grouper, Black Grouper, Gag Grouper, Red Grouper, Yellowfin Grouper, Red Grouper, Snowy Grouper, Goliath Grouper, Nassau Grouper and Warsaw Grouper.
Other bottom loving species found around the artificial reefs include: Flounder, Triggerfish, Hogfish, Black Sea Bass, Spadefish and Weakfish.
Other species inhabit the waters above the artificial reefs. They include: Amberjack, Sharks, Barracuda, Cobia and even Tarpon visiting the reefs for a meal! You may encounter these species on any Daytona Beach offshore fishing charter but they can be especially abundant near the artificial reefs. Amberjacks are such a great, hard-fighting gamefish, we devoted a page just to fishing for amberjacks. Cobia are also a very popular gamefish near Daytona Beach and a lot of fun to catch!
Although some species of Snapper and Grouper such as Goliath Grouper are currently a protected species and cannot be harvested, catch and release is always an option and lots of fun! Captain John is familiar with all offshore species and will let you know what species you can keep, the legal sizes and catch limits and what species must be released unharmed.
Trolling
Floating Time Charters also offers trolling on our offshore fishing trips. Pelagic, or free swimming species, are abundant in the Atlantic waters near Daytona Beach. Once our offshore fishing charter enters the Atlantic at Ponce Inlet, there are numerous choices for trolling from nearshore trolling for Sharks and Cobia to trolling further offshore for Mahi-mahi and Sailfish.
Trolling above Daytona Beach’s many artificial reefs offers great opportunities to catch large predator fish attracted to the rich habitat. Trolling offshore on our Daytona Beach fishing charters offers the opportunity to catch many different highly-desirable species. They include: Cobia, Mahi-mahi, Wahoo, Sailfish, King Mackerel, Sharks, Barracuda and many more species!
Come Fishing Offshore with Floating Time Charters! Whether you want to go bottom fishing on the reefs or trolling for free-swimming species, Daytona Beach offshore fishing charters have it all! Contact Captain John of Floating Time Charters to arrange you next Daytona Beach offshore fishing trip!
Offshore Fishing is our most popular Daytona Beach fishing charter!
When you’re ready to have fun fishing in Daytona Beach, contact Captain John of Floating Time Charters.
For Plenty More Fishing Pictures from Floating Time Charters with Captain John Schmidt visit our Photo Gallery
For more Florida fishing adventures visit Pensacola Beach Fishing Trips.