Fishing report for weekend of July 31-Aug. 2

Offshore: As typical of this time of year, bottom fishing and trolling are on the slow side. Divers off Sebastian and the Port are still reporting temperatures as low as 58 degrees on the 80- to 100-foot reefs. King mackerel — some “snakes” in the 5- to 10-pound range and a few 30- to 40-pound “smokers” — are hitting live goggle eyes, sardines and pogies slow-trolled around the Chris Benson area north of Port Canaveral.

In light of the situation involving two teenagers lost at sea off Jupiter, I’d like to encourage all offshore anglers to make safety a higher priority than catching fish out there. Keep radios and GPS in working order, check expiration dates on flares, know where your fire extinguisher is stowed and don’t skimp on quality life jackets for each person on board. Keep a waterproof, buoyant “ditch bag” ready to go. Keep inside a hand-held VHF and GPS units, some unsalted almonds, water, signal mirror, flares, whistle and rope. Look into investing in an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB). You’re worth it.

Surf: The Satellite Beach area has been holding large schools of whiting, croaker and spot, which can be caught on small-hook surf rigs with pieces of frozen shrimp or Fishbites artificial bait. Some of the croakers are quite large and make great eating. Blacktip and blacknose sharks are roaming the same areas, feeding on these wee little members of the drum family.

Sebastian Inlet: Plenty of baitfish down here — mojarra, pilchards, threadfins. Cold water has slowed the snapper bite, but the jacks don’t seem to mind.

Inshore: Schools of tarpon are feeding on killifish and minnows that are being flushed out of the marshes along the Banana River. These tarpon are eager to take small streamer flies, 3-inch jerkbaits or a ¼-ounce DOA shrimp. It’s an early bite — they’re done feeding each morning by 8 a.m. Kayakers meandering around the mangrove shorelines of the Thousand Islands area of Cocoa Beach are finding redfish, ladyfish and jacks. Around the lagoon’s causeways, casting out a live or cut croaker, sand trout, mullet or ladyfish into deep water could yield some sizable sailcats, some pushing eight pounds. They taste similar to their freshwater kin and put up a good fight.