Capt. Ed Kimmen tests a calm Atlantic at daybreak for pelagics outside Boca Inlet.

Oh, we’re in ‘em now!”

Captain Ed Kimmen raised the alarm as a spinning rod dipped sharply, the first of a cooler-filling school of dolphin.

A half-hour earlier we’d been after different quarry, trolling a variety of cut and artificial baits, when the first of two blue marlin burst across our spread. He shook his bill as if to say, “Nope, you won’t catch me today!”

Later we chummed in shallower water for yellowtail snapper, catching one after the other. And while we were at it, we dropped cutbaits to the bottom and hooked several kingfish.

All this happened within four hours. It was Kimmen’s way of proving a point: Boca Raton deserves to be known for something other than high-flying CEOs, plastic surgery and upscale restaurants. Fishing potential here is higher than local real estate prices.

“It’s a wonderful place to fish,” Kimmen explained. “Right out of the inlet you have so many choices.”

Many South Florida anglers consider Boca a no-man’s land between the bountiful waters of northern Palm Beach County and Miami-Dade County to the south.

Locals say the relatively light fishing pressure, dense reef structure and abundant nearshore bait make Boca a vastly underrated fishing venue.

“People don’t think of fishing when they think of Boca,” says Kimmen, who runs the charter boat Find-a-Fish (www.findafish.net). “And that’s a shame because it is a diamond in the rough.”

The rough part is often boater access into the Atlantic, and that has almost certainly helped the local fish population. Boca’s inlet is treacherous—with shifting sandbars that remain a challenge, even for those who use it often. Getting a big boat safely through this inlet can be worse than sitting for a root canal. (More on that later.)

While local inlet problems remain controversial, Boca’s offshore waters are getting excellent reviews from local fishermen.

One of the selling points of this place is the abundance of live bait. During a recent trip we launched early out of Silver Palm Park off of Palmetto Park Road. Even before we left the dock, we saw jumping pilchards 30 feet out.

With two quick throws of the castnet, Ed filled the livewell with baitfish. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” he said.

On this dead-calm day, we had no problems clearing the inlet.

Just outside we spotted blue runners under the boat. Using small jigs, we were able to land a half dozen.

Later, while chumming for yellowtail, we nabbed a bunch of ballyhoo attracted by the tidbits.

Admittedly, conditions were ideal. It was midweek on a flat day with no other boats vying for bait.

Small dolphin, or peanuts, often invade the bait spread.

“We’re blessed,” said Kimmen, who’s been fishing out of Boca for 29 years. “The amount of bait here is amazing. Live bait here is usually easy to catch. We have clearer water, the reef structure is denser and that attracts bait.”

With the livewell loaded, Ed went for big game first. He and mate Jamie Ralph quickly rigged six lines. We were in 750 feet of water just north of the inlet, trolling at about six knots. Ed let out a hoot and all heads looked astern. A big marlin was thrashing its head out of water in the middle of the spread. “C’mon! Take it,” I yelled. But the monster moved on.

Ed decided to put out a seventh line with a 6-inch strip of bonito on a 6/0 circle hook. The bait skips across the water to imitate flyingfish. “It’s something I tried once and it really works,” said Ed.

It certainly seemed to work. A few minutes later, another marlin flashed across the spread lines—but again, without taking a bait. Ed was apoplectic. “That’s two! We’ve got to get one of these!”

After a few more passes in vain to coax the marlin, Ed decided to switch tactics. “On a calm day like today, we just have to go for dolphin,” he said.

Eight miles offshore, we looked for floating weeds or debris. Several times we came up to big weed clumps, but Ed didn’t like them. “I don’t see any baitfish under them,” he explained. “If the weeds don’t have bait, you’re wasting time.”