By Capt. Nate Wheeler
The New Year started out with a bang! Good weather produced an excellent bite all around. Monster yellowtails hung around the edges of the reef. Fresh cut bait free lining behind a block of chum produced an easy limit of dinner. The wahoo bite turned on early in the morning out in the deeper water. The good weather didn’t last long though. Many fronts with lots of rain have been passing through, often making conditions completely un-fishable. I spent a lot of my time fishing very close to land. Large mangrove snappers have pushed into the channels and mangrove islands. Unpredictable weather has made making plans very tough. All you can do is wake up early and be ready to go.
Coming into February Things should really begin to heat up. Winter storms should begin to arrive less frequently and really settle down. Strong north winds will result in much more bait around. Prime winter fishing is in full action. Your blue water species such as tuna, sailfish, and wahoo should be….wherever the blue water is. Storms can push dirty inshore water in and out of the reef. Good current should produce color changes. Covering ground trolling rigged baits early in the morning can really produce. As soon as you start finding fish, slow down and really work the area. Cobia frequent the edges of the reef in good numbers this time of year so its always a good idea to keep an eye out and be prepared to cast a live bait right on their head.
If the big ocean is not your favorite and you prefer the calmer, inshore waters you will not be disappointed. Although colder water will push some of the major gamefish out, there are plenty of other fish to target. Casting artificial lures around the channel edges and mullet muds should produce a great trout bite. Jacks, lady fish and sharks will not produce a good meal, however are fun to catch and very plentiful. When fishing the backcountry channels, just like out front, be ready for the big cobia. Sometimes they will be on the back of the larger sharks.
Captain Nate Wheeler
Waypoint Fishing Charters
(305) 394-2177
www.waypointfishing.net
captnatewheeler@aol.com