By Capt. Weston Russell Contributing Writer
With winter migration comes many rewards. Wreck fishing will be on our list for February. Palm Beach County has some of the best offshore man-made reefs anywhere in Florida. Most up-to-date GPS have these wrecks marked; some even have them named. Fishing wrecks is not complicated, it just takes the right tackle and a little bit of know-how. First you want to start with some heavy tackle, something in the 50 class range for reels and at least an 80 pound test rod. The rig is a three-way swivel to a 10 ounce lead with 30 feet of 100# leader. You will need a strong circle hook like a 12/0. The bait of choice is blue runner or goggle eye. When dropping down on the wrecks, always start up current and give yourself time to reach the bottom. Once you hit the bottom reel it up six turns and hold on. If you placed yourself in the right spot you should have a bite within minutes. Expect jumbo amberjacks, groupers, huge mutton snapper and cobia to name a few. We have caught many other species of fish on the wrecks, you just never know what you can catch down there.
For the inshore anglers, Palm Beach Inlet will be holding sheepshead, jacks, and permit. Live shrimp works best. Scale your tackle down to catch the big ones. Jigs tipped with shrimp is what we use at reelintensefishing.com.
Captain Weston Russell
561-310-2690
www.reelintensefishing.com