In January, we continue our focus on a strong wahoo bite. High speed trolling is still key, with the best speeds being between 11and14 knots. The wahoo will stay close to the ledges and are also close to the surface, so keep the bait above 50 feet of depth. Large schools of bait fish are in the area, so our recommendation is to stick with the Islander lures, blue being a good color choice. Around the island you will find wahoo ranging in size between 60 to100 pounds. Be ready for kingfish, as well as the occasional dolphin coming in for a bite. The usual fishing spots such as Simms and Diana Bank will bring the best catch. Many boats come back with 500 to 1000 pounds of fish. The great thing about January is how often fish are biting and it is important to have the right gear for such a time— 80w reels along with heavy duty cable is required. We usually notice that the fish seem to stay in packs of two to three as the lines will go off quite close to one another. Regardless, expect to be hooking up with fish every 5 to 10 minutes. In the event of a southwest wind, many of the fish will move out of the area, which will slow the bite. In such a case, we switch our focus to the reefs where the red snapper hide. Electric reels lined with squid or ballyhoo at the end will work best.
January is a beautiful time of year in the Bahamas, especially Long Island. Although this is the “busy” season, the Island is still relatively quiet and it is easy to find a secluded beach to spend the day relaxing. The north and south ends of the island can have very different weather patterns, with the south being warm and the north being cooler. It gives a different feel to the whole Bahamas experience, and our Island welcomes you to a world class experience (and fish)!