By: Capt. Bruce Andersen
After a long hot summer that seems to extend well into fall every year, I always look forward to the early season cold fronts that will be rolling into the Florida Keys in November. These cold fronts will not only bring some pleasant temperatures to our area, but some excellent fishing as well. Every year as the cold fronts cool things off, I start to shift my attention from the offshore fishing out in the gulf stream to the areas closer to home. Specifically, the areas just inside, on top of, and just offshore of the reef.
Outside the reef in water depths from 90 to 200 feet live bait and kite fishing for pelagics like sailfish, kingfish, blackfin tuna, and wahoo can offer some of the best sport fishing opportunities of the year. On top of the reef we should see excellent yellowtail snapper action with opportunities for king mackerel, mutton snapper, and grouper as well.
My favorite type of fishing in late fall and early winter really sparks up when the first cold fronts arrive to cool the water temps down this is when the action on the reef heats up. Fishing the patch reefs between Hawks Channel and the edge of the reef in water between 10 and 30 feet can be one of the most productive and fun ways to fish this time of year. Everything from yellowtail snapper, to cero mackerel, to grouper, and especially mutton snapper can be had on the patches especially right after a strong cold front has stirred up the water.
When fishing the patch reefs there are two main things I like to do. I’ll use shrimp or cut bait fished on light 10- or 12-pound spinning tackle with small jig heads for plenty of action with the yellowtail as well as mangrove snapper, porgies and the occasional hogfish. I’ll also target bigger mutton snapper and grouper on slightly heavier 20-pound spinning tackle with either knocker rigs or short 30-pound fluorocarbon leaders baited with live ballyhoo, live pilchards or ballyhoo plugs. This is a really challenging and fun way to catch mutton snapper. These fish fight much differently in the shallow water than they do in deep water and although it can be challenging you’ll be surprised at the size of some of the muttons you can catch on this relatively light tackle. Whether your Patch reef fishing for mutton snapper in the shallows, yellowtail fishing on top of the reef or targeting big game pelagics right outside the reef things are sure to heat up as winter approaches!
— 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