Happy New Year! 2013 is here and if you are reading this we have made it through the apocalypse. So what does this mean? Well I think we need to go fishing. December was crazy fishing Port Canaveral Offshore — Triple tail were everywhere, King macks were averaging 20lbs, and the dolphin were chewing offshore on this side of the stream. Even cobia made a showing off and on which a lot of the inshore Captains took advantage of!
January is sometimes hard to call, we have to deal with the ever present cold fronts, closed fisheries, and that pesky cold water. Wait, did I say cold water? That brings four species to the front; wahoo, cobia, Triple tail, and kings. Wahoo have been thick, showing up when you least expect it. I had a charter the other day where we got absolutely railed at the 20 mile buoy on a Tiagra 16 running a light dolphin set. He dumped the reel with two major runs and finally found the mono and took my rig as a souvenir. If you target these awesome eating and formable predators you can have a great day on the water. Best of luck! First off your tackle must be intact, you will need 30 to 50 wides and 80’s being the reel of choice. You want to run 30 feet of heavy mono to wire then to your trolling weight, some more wire, and then your lure. Get out to 160 feet but not before you make a pass or three at the weather buoy, if there isn’t a wahoo there you need to throw some chunk bait out, fire the bar jacks up, and wait for the mahi to come up or rush in depending how thick they are, cobia here is also a great possibility. So know you are in 160 foot of water you have five mahi in the box and its back to the original plan of wahoo. We run two longs and one short down the center. People always say this many yds or that many, I say whatever your gut tells you and what tackle your are using will tell you how long. Turn the boat Southeast and head for deeper water looking for rips and structure out to 350’.
FISH ON!!!! Now here comes the mistakes…the #1 culprit is the throttle man shuts the boat down, a wahoo can cruise faster then you can reel plus they have a gapping hole in their mouth and the hook will simply fall out. Keep the boat engaged, the reel in the rod holder and constant cranking on that reel. Second mistake always happens boatside, the gaff man either tomahawks it or slack is applied and just the right moment, never stop that 5kt forward motion. Get your gloves on, wrap that leader, secure the weight, get control of the fish, sink the steel, and get his ass in the boat!!!
After your morning wahoo hunt is over and your limit is in the box or your gut just tells you it isn’t happening, put out that mahi spread and do work! Work those rips that you have already found, watch for birds working. After your day offshore is complete give yourself some time to work anything you can on the way in for those Triple tail and cobia. Next month will be all about cobia and hopefully the run is better then last year. Like always feel free to contact me for any questions. Again Happy New Year and Tight Lines!!
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