Well, September has finally come and gone and it will be time to look for the early run of wahoo and mahi-mahi. September did produce a few wahoo, which is always a good sign. This will mean that water temperatures didn’t get too warm this year and some fish actually hung around. We caught a few mahi-mahi in September so my outlook for October is very positive.
We have been running a single planer tied to the boat and slide large bullet-head lures down on a shower curtain ring and rubber-band release system with great success. Weighted lures of black/purple and black/green worked well last season so I will be starting out again with these; a long bait on the center rod, (I like a smaller cupped head type chugger of pink/white here); depths around 200 to 800 feet should work well until you can zone in on where the fish will be. By mid-month the fishing should have made it all the way to Highbourne Cay.
Looking at the cuts along the Exuma chain should also produce good opportunity for some wahoo and mahi-mahi. Deep dropping should continue to be excellent from now through the winter months, anywhere from 400 to 1,200 feet. We have actually caught some small golden tilefish several months ago, a first for me in this area, and boy were they good eating!
Thank goodness September is over and it’s time to get back on the water! As always make sure you know catch limits and regulations, and stay out of the Exuma Park restricted areas. Armed officers are now on patrol. All for now, see you on the water!
FORECAST BY: Capt. Doug Rowe, Fish Rowe Charters
George Town, Great Exuma, Bahamas
Phone: (242) 336-3440 • Cell: (242) 357-0870
Email: drowe@batelnet.bs
www.fishrowecharters.com