Palm Beach Fishing Report — March 2025
Final weeks of sailfish season; cobia at the nearshore reef; first spring mahi. Updated every Thursday with current conditions, what’s biting, and where to focus your fishing effort.
What’s Biting in Palm Beach — March 2025
Check back every Thursday for updated fishing conditions and current bite reports for Palm Beach. See our Palm Beach fishing guide for full seasonal information.
Late Sailfish, First Cobia
March is the back half of the sailfish run and the front edge of the cobia migration — both fisheries are productive at once, which makes it a uniquely fun month to be on the water in Palm Beach. The sails are still bunched on the bait, just spreading out a bit more and starting to push north. Cobia begin showing in earnest mid-month, riding loggerheads, manta rays, and stingrays on the surface in 30–80 feet of water. The sight-casting cobia game off Palm Beach is one of the most exciting visual fisheries in Florida, and when conditions are right you can run from ray to ray hooking up.
Tackle & Technique
Keep a sight-casting outfit ready at all times in March — a 4500 to 6500-class spinning reel with 30–40 lb braid, 60 lb fluoro leader, and a heavy bucktail jig or pre-rigged eel imitation. The standard play: spot the ray, idle into casting range, drop the jig in front of the cobia’s nose, and let it eat. Cobia eat aggressively but pull back if the boat gets too close, so the longer cast wins more fish than the closer approach. For continued sailfish action, the live-bait kite spread remains the highest-percentage method along the 100–150 foot edge.
Inshore March Pattern
The inshore fishery picks up substantially in March as water temperatures climb into the low 70s. Snook are moving toward the inlets and feeding on the falling tides. Spanish mackerel show up in the intracoastal and around the inlets, and a small Got-Cha plug or silver spoon will catch them all day. Tarpon arrive late month around the deeper holes near Jupiter Inlet — early-season fish are big.
Conditions to Watch
Watch for warm-water pushes — when the inshore temps jump 4–6 degrees in three days, the whole fishery shifts. The cobia bite peaks on calm, sunny days when you can actually see the rays from the tower. Wind 5–10 knots from any direction is workable. The full and new moons of March bring strong tides, which load the inlets with bait and create good shadow-line snook opportunities at night.
Captain’s Tip
If you want consistent cobia action in March, run with a tower if you have one — even a poling platform helps. Spotting the ray ten seconds earlier is the difference between a presentable shot and a fish that’s already spooked. And always cast in front of the ray, not behind it; cobia ride above and slightly in front of their host, and a behind-cast usually pulls the jig out of the strike zone.