With heavy sargassum, avoid chugger or flat head lures. I stick with torpedo head lures such as the Iland bullet head or Zuker tuna feather/grass skirt which tend to stay cleaner longer.

Just finished bringing my boat from STT to Annapolis. There was a good bit of sargassum all the way until we exited the Gulf Stream. We dragged a spread of 2 rods set at 100yds and 5-6 handlines at 75-150 ft. Caught a 10lb mahi on day 1, a 5' blue marlin on day 2 that we released, then a 12lb mahi on day 3. After that we quit fishing as the freezer was full. All 3 fish were caught on the same rod trolling a Zuker Blue/White tuna feather at 100 yds from the boat. We got no bites on the other rod with a Zuker yellow/green tuna feather or the closer in handlines with a range of lure types and colors. Over the years, the Zuker blue/white tuna feather has consistently been my top performer in VI waters.