How to Catch Tripletail in the Southeast Atlantic
The short answer
Tripletail in the Southeast Atlantic hold on open sound water, inlets and passes. They peak Jun–Sep. Start with live shrimp: Under a cork, pitched a few feet ahead of a fish laid up on a buoy or floating debris. Best on less tide-driven — you're hunting floaters, any moving water. Bright mid-day — you need sun to spot them.
When Tripletail bite in the Southeast Atlantic
Jun–Sep — a summer sight-fishing game
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
off | off | off | off | around | peak | peak | peak | peak | around | off | off |
What to throw for Tripletail
Best first. The retrieve matters more than the lure, so each one says how to work it.
- Live shrimp — Under a cork, pitched a few feet ahead of a fish laid up on a buoy or floating debris.
- Gulp — DOA-style shrimp free-lined past a floater if you're out of live bait.
Where to find them
Look for open sound water, inlets and passes.
Idle the crab-pot buoy lines and markers in the sound and look for what seems like a floating trash bag — that's a tripletail lying on its side. Cast past it, bring the bait to it.
Tide and timing
Less tide-driven — you're hunting floaters, any moving water
Bright mid-day — you need sun to spot them
Tackle
7' medium spinning · 3000 reel · 15–20 lb braid · 25 lb fluoro leader
Check the regulations
Size and bag limits change by state and by season, and they change more often than any article gets updated. Check your state agency before you keep anything.
Sounder links the right state agency for wherever you drop a pin, and flags a fish that’s out of slot as you log it.