By: Capt. Bruce Andersen
Here we are, I can’t believe it’s December already, time seems like it’s flying by. What a great time of year to get out on the water and do some fishing here in the Florida Keys. It’s finally cooling down and the cold fronts we’ve been waiting for all summer and fall are finally swooping down, bringing cooler temperatures and northern winds to our area. These changes also bring some awesome fishing opportunities with them. Many that we haven’t seen since last spring.
With the weather patterns changing the feeding habits of many of our target species are also changing as well. Some of the sport fish like sailfish and mahi that we’ve been chasing offshore the last several months will now be much closer to shore, cruising down the edge of the reef in search of the huge schools of ballyhoo. There’ll be some awesome sight Fishing opportunities. Casting at these fish while they’re chasing ballyhoo is one of the most exciting types of fishing that we do here in the Florida Keys. When it happens and you see the ballyhoo showers, it’s time to spring into action, race into the frenzy and see if you can cast to a crazed sailfish chasing hundreds of baits right on the surface!
Another type of fishing that heats up when the temperature cools down and the weather patterns change would be patch reef fishing. The winds from strong cold fronts will churn up the water and cool things down quite a bit which will make the mutton snapper, groupers, and yellowtail snapper all easier to catch. This action will take place on the shallower patches of reef in the depths from 10 to 30 feet of water.
And finally, one more fishing opportunity that will come with the cooler weather will involve heading back to the Gulf of Mexico in search of Spanish mackerel, cobia, mangrove snapper and a whole bunch of other stuff. Once the water temperatures cool down, huge schools of Spanish mackerel will swarm the area and it makes for some very fast action! You can also get lucky and run
into a school of cobia on one of the many wrecks and rock piles back in the gulf. There’s also a whole mix of other stuff, including various types of snapper, Jack’s, Pompano, and much more.
These are just a few of the many fishing opportunities we have in the Florida keys. The great thing about fishing here is there’s always something exciting to fish for. I’m looking forward to getting in on these types of fishing that always come alive in the winter season. I’ll be out there. You’re welcome to come try it all with me, but either way I hope I see you out there too!
— www.captaineasycharters.com
You can reach Captain Bruce Andersen at Capt. Easy Charters,
MM 85, call 305.360.2120 or email at: captbrucekey@comcast.net